How to Train Your Heart to Love
by broadwaybabe5
Summary: We all know Astrid as the confident, determined viking girl, but ever since she got to know Hiccup, new feelings have come up from the surface that she has never felt before. Hiccup helps Astrid tear down her walls that keep her from letting herself love, and now, she must find herself and is confronted with the greatest decision of all; Hiccup, or her destiny?
1. She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

**Hey everyone! This is my first story ever on here, and I'm just now starting to write and see where I can get inspiration, so I really hope you'll like this enough to keep reading! I've always loved HTTYD and Hiccup and Astrid's relationship, so I thought I'd play around with that and see where it goes. I hope you enjoy this story! I'll try to update as much as I can. Please review!**

It's been 5 months since the war ended. The war against the so called "bad guys" of Berk, dragons. Ever since Hiccup discovered the truth about how dragons really are and put an end to the war, the land had been left with peace and harmony. Dragons now roamed the land freely with coveted company, the vikings, and all seemed well. However, Astrid, Hiccup's best friend, wasn't feeling as happy as everyone else. Ever since she got to know Hiccup, and realized how kind and good natured he was by saving everyone, something had sparked inside of her, something she couldn't explain at all.

Astrid has always been known as the hero, the viking girl who knew who she was and walked like she owned all of the land of Berk. She was always longed after by many young viking men suitors, but she was never interested. She was too passionate about fighting dragons. All Astrid ever dreamed about was becoming the hero to save Berk from the dragons. However, when Hiccup showed her how they didn't have to kill dragons, that dream became a faded memory to her, now. The passion was replaced by something incomprehensible in her eyes. It was Hiccup.

Astrid had never really known love all of her life. She was abandoned at birth and left as an orphan in the care taking of an old widow viking named Edna. Edna had always told Astrid that she was left by the docks of the boats in a basket, crying. No one knew where she came from and no one knew of anyone who was pregnant in town, so she was never claimed. However, Edna took pity on the baby and decided to take it in of hopes of it being of some service to her. Astrid's life is much like a Cinderella story, however, a viking and dragon version of it. Edna would work Astrid to death, slaving away all day and night. She was never allowed to go out and play with the other children, never had decent clothes to wear, and was forced to sleep out in the stables with the sheep. All of her life, she always wondered about her real parents. Where were they? Why did they leave me? What is so wrong with me that they decided to live without me? These questions haunted her mind endlessly. That's why Astrid became the rough and tough girl we see today. She wanted to prove to the world that she wasn't worthless. She wanted to be known as the Great Hero of Berk, the one who saved everyone from the dragons. Then came along Hiccup who showed her how it doesn't have to be that way. Hiccup taught her that she doesn't have to be alone to feel like she's worth something. For the first time in her life, she felt hope for her future.

Ever since the war ended, Hiccup and Astrid became the best of friends. They always went into town together, played with Toothless and Stormfly, and were always by each other's side. It was obvious that Hiccup had been in love with Astrid for so long, and tried on many awkward occasions to try and get her to respond to his affections, but she always changed the subject or would disregard what he would say. Astrid knew that she was feeling something, but was afraid to face it. However Hiccup was growing tired of the games, and an event was coming that may have to force the two to finally come together after all of this time. Astrid needed to decide what she was going to do about the situation. Will she confront her feelings, or risk losing Hiccup as a friend forever?

This where our story starts.

**_**

"Come on, Hiccup! Hurry up! We're going to be late for the town meeting!" I shouted, beating on his door as hard as I could. It was the first Wednesday of the month, which meant that the whole people of Berk were to go to the Square for the monthly town meeting to discuss upcoming events. I never went without Hiccup, so I had to wait impatiently for him to get out of bed, late, as he always does every town meeting. I started to pace and feel myself fuming.

"HICCUP! I WILL BREAK DOWN THE DOOR WHETHER YOU HAVE YOUR PANTS ON OR NOT!" I shouted, banging my fits on the door again. I then heard a thud inside the house, some whimpers and screams. Of course, Hiccup falling over again. He was so clumsy, the idiot... but it was cute at the same time...

Suddenly the door came flinging open. There he was, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, leaning on the door with the same awkward smile on his face, his hair all wrangled up from sleeping. His clothes were askew on his body, obviously from him trying to pull them on as fast as he could. Typical Hiccup. I thought to myself.  
I smiled back to him. "Are you ready? The meeting has probably already started!"  
"Oh yeah, I was born ready..." he started to say, as he tried to stand up on both legs when his feet flew beneath him, landing him on his butt. I couldn't help but laugh. I loved it when he tried to act all macho around me.  
I held out a hand to him. "Oh, I'm sure you were." I pulled him up in one quick motion, causing myself to lose my balance as well. I almost had smacked my back right in the snow, but then Hiccup caught my abruptly, his hands holding my lower back and shoulders. He looked down on me with a warm smile to his face. I couldn't help but smile back. All of a sudden, I felt butterflies fly all around my stomach, and my face began to feel hotter and hotter with every millisecond. My skin tingled where he was touching me.  
"Astrid... You look beautiful..." said Hiccup in a low, sincere voice. The butterflies in my stomach wouldn't stop. Then, I remembered how I looked. I was wearing my typically combat boots, pants, and my hair in a braid with my bangs down. This is how I look everyday... Why do I look particularly different to him today then I would any other day?  
The butterflies stopped. I stood myself up and brushed the wrinkles out of my shirt, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Thanks, you look pretty decent yourself," I muttered under my breath. I still kept my gaze down when I heard him sigh heavily. I knew he was disappointed his move didn't work, as they always never do, but there was just a part of me that couldn't let this feeling overcome myself. I quickly put the thoughts out of my mind and looked up at him and tried to show him a half-hearted smile.

"Come on, we better hurry if we want to see your dad make the big announcement," I said, nodding my head toward Stormfly and Toothless, who were waiting outside behind us the whole time.

"Right..." said Hiccup, still looking sad. "Can't wait to hear him yell all across the whole town about how surprised he STILL is about the fact that I wasn't a total screw up. I'm just so overwhelmed with excitement." He walked steadily through the snow. I chuckled at the remark.

"Yeah, sure would hate to be you! I mean, to hear him say that over and over and OVER must really be awful..."

"Yeah, not really helping there, Astrid..." he responded as we got on Toothless. Toothless and Stormfly became good friends just like me and Hiccup. It was pretty ironic how it happened. As I got on Stormfly, I noticed that they had been conversing somehow over the discussion I was having with Hiccup. They were giving each other these humorous looks, like they knew something I didn't.

quickly disregarded the thought of out my head and took off, feeling the wind rush through my hair. The sun had just started to rise, lighting the sky with a purple and pink haze. The sea was frozen from the long winter, and the wind nipped at my cold skin, but the view was so spectacular, I didn't mind one bit. The huge advantage about having pet dragons is the flying. You feel so free and alive, like you can do anything. Hiccup first showed me what it was like when he took me for my first ride on Toothless 5 months ago before the war. That was when I realized that there's more to life than trying to find something beyond yourself, when the thing you're looking for has been right in front of you the whole time... and that was Hiccup. He was the one that brought inspiration and hope back into my life, and because of him, I'm a better person now. As my mind drifted back to the memories, I looked over at Hiccup, riding right next to me. He looked back at me, and smiled that smile I always loved. If only I could tell him... show him how I really feel... But I don't know how...

Before I could ponder on it any longer, we arrived at the square. The announcements hadn't started yet, but Hiccup's dad was starting to walk up the podium right when we got there. We hopped off of our dragons and headed toward the crowd.

"Hey, so much for being late, huh?" said Hiccup, nudging me. "Look who was all worked up for nothing."

"Watch it, Hiccup." I teased back. "One of these days, we will be late, and when we are, you're going to get it!"

"Let's hope it's not painful..." he said, cringing at the thought. I chuckled to myself. He always knew how to make me smile, even when he didn't realize it.

As we made our way into the crowd, the gang immediately spotted us.

"HICCUP! ASTRID! OVER HERE!" shouted the twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut. They were jumping around and hitting people accidentally, being obnoxious as usual. We worked our way over the group. Fishlegs was standing behind Ruffnut, staring at her. Everyone knew that he's been in love with her for so long, except her, of course. He's even more afraid of love than I am, and that's saying a lot. Snotlout was on the side talking to bunch of girls who were obviously not interested in anything that he was saying. Thank goodness he's not interested in me anymore, I thought to myself. I remember those days far too well. Right when we reached our friends, Hiccup's father took the stand, looking as he always does.

"Good morning, Berk! Welcome to this monthly meeting ritual," he shouted from the podium down to the crowd. Everyone was huddled together like penguins for warmth, waiting for the painful speeches to stop. The chieftain rambled on and on about the livestock and farming situations for about twenty minutes. I was growing more impatient and colder as the speech went on.

"Astrid, are you okay?" asked Hiccup. "You look kind of blue."

"Oh no, I'm not sad, just annoyed by how long this is taking."

"No, I don't mean sad. What I'm saying is that you literally look blue, like the color..." he answered, taking hold of my hand and showing me. The tips were tinted to a slight purple looking color. I didn't even realize I was cold because of the numbness.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed in response. "I can't even feel it!"

"Here," said Hiccup, handing me his tattered mittens. "Take them. You need need them more than I do." I looked at him in amazement. He always surprised me with his kindness. I was never a kindly natured person, and Hiccup was always so kind to me... I never understood it. I pushed his hands away.

"No, I want you to keep them. You'll end up like me in a few minutes if you leave them off any longer." Hiccup looked disappointed again.

"Wait!" His face lit up with an idea. "Let's try this..."

He put the mittens back on and took both of my hands in his. He rubbed them gently to try to get my blood moving again. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. He was just so kind... I never understood why he was so good to me.

"Is that better?" he said, looking up at me, smiling a little. He pulled me a little closer.

"Yeah..." I stammered. "I can feel them now." Now our faces were just inches apart. I could feel his warmth. The butterflies came back in my stomach again. He was just so kind... and from this view of him, he looked rather handsome... there was something about his dark hair and eyes against the white winter that made his face glow somehow.

"Beautiful..." I whispered softly to myself.

"What was that?" Hiccup said abruptly, waking me up from my haze. I then realized what I said, and ripped my hands from his hold. I looked down in shame.

"Nothing!" I said, frantically. "I didn't say anything..." I avoided eye contact. I could feel his gaze on my face, but resisted not looking up. I knew if I did, I'd repent and just spill my guts to him, but I had to stay strong. I just had to... But then I thought, why do I have to be so strong, anyways?

Before I could answer my own question, the chieftain bellowed across the sea of people toward our direction. Remembering the cold, I quickly put my hands under my armpits. It wasn't as warm as Hiccup's hands, but it would have to do.

"LASTLY!" Hiccup's dad shouted, "I'd like to address our most important announcement of the month! As we all know, the war ended a more than 4 months ago by my son, Hiccup. Of course, we're all still so surprised!" Hiccup sighed and rolled his eyes. I smiled and nudged him, trying to give him more confidence. He stood up straight and smiled for me.

"However, in honor of the 5th month anniversary of the end of violence and in honor of my son's bravery, the tribe council and I have decided to provide an event that we have never held here in Berk!"

The whole crowd murmured with confusion and anticipation. I was slightly confused myself. I didn't think this was going to be the big announcement.

"What's he talking about?" exclaimed Tuffnut, punching Hiccup in the arm.

"You know as much as I do," he answered back. I furrowed my brow in thought. What could it be? A feast? A festival? A pie eating contest? We've had all of these things before... But something we've never had in Berk...

"A ball!" shouted the chieftain. The crowd became even more restless now.

"A ball? What the heck is a ball?" shouted Snotlout, rubbing his runny nose. I rolled my eyes in disgust at him and waited for an answer.

"A ball is a party! It's where we all get dressed up and dance and eat for a night! It will be held this Friday, in two days time. I hope you will all come!" shouted Hiccup's father in response. The crowd cheered in excitement. We've never had anything like this before! Dressing up? Dancing? No one ever really danced in this land. We've been so caught up in fighting dragons all of these years, we've never really had a chance to... have fun.

"Oh! And I almost forgot!" shouted the chieftain as he almost got off of the podium. A hush fell over the crowd.

"In order to be admitted into the ball, you MUST have a date! NO ACCEPTIONS!"  
At this, my jaw dropped. Me? I thought. Going into a ball in a stupid frilly dress with some dope holding my hand like I'm a piece of jewelry, babying me all night? No way. I'm a human being! This isn't going to work at all there's no way I'm going to this-  
I stopped when I turned around and looked at Hiccup. He was looking at me with the biggest, most stupid smile I've ever seen him smile in my life. There was a certain light in his eyes that I've never seen before now. He had never looked at me like that... ever.  
"Some stupid event, huh?" I said to him, punching him in the arm. Hiccup's smile vanished, turning into the most disappointed look he had ever given me. Guess there's a first for everything...  
"Yeah," he muttered. "Stupid." He turned around and walked away through the bustling crowd. I followed after him, but got lost in all of the commotion.  
Why do I always ruin everything?


	2. Not In a Million Years

**Hey guys! Hope this update was fast enough haha. PLEASE, if you read this story, leave a review! It would be much appreciated! The couple of reviews I've had had helped motivate me to continue to write so early, so pretty please review! Thanks so much for reading! :)**

I ran out of the crowd as fast as I could. I searched the crowd viciously, my eyes darting to every corner of the crowd. Hiccup was nowhere to be found. I looked over to where I left Stormfly with Toothless, and Toothless had vanished.

I ran as fast as I could through the crowd once more to get over to Stormfly, who looked concerned somehow. I reached her and stroke her head, trying to comfort her.

"Stormfly, where's Toothless?" I asked, hoping to find some response from her. She looked up to the sky, indicating that he took off. I knew right then and there where they went. "Come on, girl. We're going for a ride." Before I could even hop on without disturbance, Snotlout came out of nowhere and grabbed my hand.

"Hey, Astrid. You're looking as fit as ever," he said with his sour breath. I ripped my hand from his before he could get another word in.

"Not now, Snotty," I scowled. "I don't have time for one of your famous pick up lines. I have something I need to do," I said, hopping on Stormfly and "accidentally" kicking Snotlout in the face with the swing of my leg. He coughed and spouted at the impact. I simply chuckled to myself.

"Now hold on a minute!" he shouted, rubbing his cheek while he ran in front of Stormfly, confusing her. "Will you let me talk? I wanna ask you something." I could tell that there was no way of getting out of this situation until I let him say what he had to say. I sighed heavily and gestured to him to continue. This really wasn't a part of my whole "trying to be a nice person to Hiccup" plan...

Snotlout began to pace, ringing his hands together in a nervous action that I've never seen him make before. I was growing impatient.

"Any day, Snotty!" I exclaimed, raising my hands in the air to get his attention. I couldn't wait all day!

"Okay, okay..." he muttered, finally coming to a halt in front on Stormfly. He was breaking out into a cold sweat. "Now...Astrid...I think you've known by now that, well...I'm a pretty good looking dude, am I right?" I sat there with my arms crossed, glaring at him. I've never cared Snotlout. He was always such a pretentious freeloader who never cared about anyone but himself. Of course I've only known that he's liked me ever since I can remember, but did I ever take an opportunity for myself to go for it? No. I've always been too independent to rely on such a jerk to "take care of me." I'm not that kind of girl. The kind of guy I want is Hiccup... Someone who only cares for others, not himself. And that is definitely NOT Snotlout.

He waited for a reply, but I just sat there looking disgusted. So he nervously checked himself over and continued his speech.

"And...well...You're a pretty good looking girl. And...you know, there's this ball thing in a couple of days, and I think that we should go together, because we'd be the hottest couple there, am I right? I mean, you and me, the coolest, most attractive vikings in this whole village, going to the ball together! I mean, anyone can put two and two together, am I right? So, I think we should go together. What do you say, babe? How bout it?"

I immediately jumped down from Stormfly and landed right in front of Snotlout, inches from his face, scaring the daylights out of him. He flinched back as I stood defiantly in front of him.

"How DARE you, Snotlout. Are you serious right now? I'm not some trophy you can carry around to improve your reputation, which by the way, you should absolutely get. That trophy is absolutely NOT me." I said, as I towered over him, pushing him into the other dragons as he tripped and tried to find his guard, unsuccessfully.

"Now wait a minute, I never said-"

"Oh yes you did, Snotty! You said every word. Do you think I don't know about your little crush on me? I've known from the very get go, sonny, and trust me, I don't think it's cute. It's pathetic, really. Is that your way trying to show your feelings to someone? Ridiculing them and treating them like some sort of accessory? That's not fair to the person, or yourself in fact!" At this point, Snotlout was pressed against one of the dragons, trying to use its wing as a shield, of course, unsuccessfully, while I was fuming in his face. I had it up to here with Snotlout, and he was going to get it whether he liked it or not.

"Astrid, please! I was only trying to-"

"I know you were trying! But I'm telling you, heed my advice. If you want to win a girl one day, take some tips from Hiccup. He's so kind and good natured. He never thinks of himself, only for others. Hiccup doesn't even try to win the girl in the end. He wins her without even noticing..." I began to trail off. I remembered that I had to get to Hiccup. What was I doing, yelling at Snotlout over some stupid proposal to the ball?! "Look, I gotta go, but trust me, I suggest you find someone else to go to the ball with, because that girl is NOT me."

I turned my back against him, leaving him cowering to the ground like a scared little kid. I quickly hopped on Stormfly and took to the sky. There was only one place where Hiccup could have gone with Toothless, and I knew exactly where that place was.


	3. Love is Weakness

**Hey everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all have a very Happy New Year and that you celebrated and had fun! Also, thank you all so much for reading! It means alot to me since this is my first FanFiction ever, so thanks again! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Do not finish reading until you review! The reviews really help motivate me, and if you have any hints, clues, or theories about the story, please feel free to leave your idea in the reviews as well! Without further ado, here's chapter 3!**

Stormfly and I cut through the cold winter air as fast as lighting to get to the sanctuary. I had no doubt in my mind that that was where they went. That's always where Hiccup went with Toothless whenever he wanted to be alone. It's where Hiccup trained Toothless, and where they became best friends. It's also where we shared our first kiss... I remember it like it was yesterday, really. It was when I was jealous of Hiccup's sudden success in dragon fighting training, and I'm not going to lie, I was jealous! But one day, I found him in the woods and followed where he went. So, I caught him by surprise and went before he even showed up, and boy was he surprised! That's when I first met Toothless, and where Hiccup first took me for a fly around Berk and into the clouds and beyond. That was the moment that I think I first started to feel something for Hiccup... You know, the butterflies in my stomach, my awkwardness around him sometimes. Especially when I kissed him... I never have kissed anyone in my life before, and it just sort of... happened. I don't know why I did it, but I did. Maybe that was what I needed to figure out... Why I did it.

As we approached the sanctuary, I saw Hiccup sitting by himself on a rock, while Toothless napped in the snow by the frozen water. Hiccup was doodling in the snow with a stick, as he always did.

"Stormfly, land me by the rocks. I don't want him to hear us," I said to Stormfly. She obeyed and set me down by the rocks on the top of the sanctuary. I then started to make my way down the slope, trying not to slide off of the frozen edges. It was so cold, everything seemed to have turned to ice. I cautiously moved down, trying to not make any noise. I looked down over my shoulder to see Hiccup was completely unphased, facing away from me. I paused a moment to see what he was doodling, because he seemed really enthralled with what he was doing.

I could see that Hiccup was drawing some sort of face. The eyes were misshapen and the circular head was more like jagged connecting lines, but it was definitely a face. Then, I noticed the drawing's hair. It was long, in a braid, and there were gently covering one of the eyes on the face.

Hiccup was drawing me.

As I was looking over my shoulder, I seemed to think there was a rock that would be underneath my foot as I set it down, but unfortunately... there wasn't one. In one quick swoop, I slide down the edge of the sanctuary, cutting myself against the frozen rocks. I was screaming my head off, of course, as I always do when these kind of things happen. It was kind of like sledding, except vertical, and mostly airborne.. I covered my eyes with my arms, waiting for the dreadful impact of the ground that would lead to my demise. I waited and waited for it to happen, but it never came. As I opened my eyes, slowly, I realized I was on the ground, safe. I started to laugh to myself.

"I'm alive!" I breathed out of my windless lungs. "I'm not dead!"

I looked to see that there was a shadow looming over me. I turned around, and there was Hiccup, smiling down on me. His smile quickly vanished and his expression turned to concern.

"Astrid, you're forehead is bleeding!" He pointed to the spot of where the wound was. I picked myself up to look at my reflection in the frozen lake, if I could make out one, but I started to feel very light headed. My legs withered beneath me. Thankfully, Hiccup was there to catch me again, just like he did earlier this morning, and I was fully aware of the butterflies in my stomach once again.

"Whoa! Slow down, you need to stay put," he said, gently. Hiccup helped sit back down on the ground, making sure I wouldn't slip again. "Toothless! Go to the village and bring something warm for Astrid!" Toothless's head popped up from his slumber, and he quickly took off to the sky. Hiccup kneeled down in front of me and started to take off his fur coat. He draped it around my shoulders.

"Hiccup, please, I don't need-"

"Yes you do, Astrid!" he interrupted. "Please, don't resist me this time." His face was stoic. Hiccup was always the sarcastic type, the kind of person that never took things seriously, so this told that he was completely serious. I relaxed and let him give me his coat. I did feel much warmer because of it, and felt some of my energy come back.

After he gave me his coat, Hiccup then began to tear the bottom of his shirt, leaving a huge gap between is new end of his shirt and his pants. You could clearly see some skin. I always thought Hiccup was puny. You know, like the skinny, short, weak type. But now, I know that I was VERY wrong, because I definitely saw that Hiccup did indeed have abs. Yes, they were skinny boy abs, but abs nonetheless. My butterflies in my stomach fluttered intensely when I saw this, and looked away quickly. I couldn't bare the butterflies.

"Hiccup, what the hell are you going? It's 5 degrees out here! You'll freeze to death," I protested at him. Despite how much I enjoyed the view, I knew he wouldn't survive long enough without something to cover him up in this cold.

Hiccup shook his head in disagreement, still looking stoic.

"No. You need the coat, and you need this," he said as he scooted closer to me. He wrapped his arms around my head and put the cloth from his shirt against my head, tying it behind me like a bandana to cover up my wound. I smiled at this.

"You know, you should really be a doctor," I said, teasing at him. He looked down and smiled at the remark.

"Well, since dragon killing didn't work out, I guess I need something to do," he said, putting himself down again. I couldn't help but laugh. I knew that Hiccup was insecure, but he brushes it off by making fun of himself, and hoping that people will laugh with him, so I knew laughing would be the only way to make him feel better about it.

Hiccup sat himself down in front of me, hugging himself for warmth, looking miserable from the cold.

"Come on," I said to him, holding out my arm. Despite my feelings of his touch and knowing the butterflies would come, I had to keep him warm somehow. He crawled over next to me as I draped my arm over his shoulders, letting the coat cover his back. Hiccup then slid his arm, slowly, around my waist, resting his hand above my hip, with my skin tingling at every move. The butterflies wouldn't stop fluttering, and I began to feel my face warming.

I then realized... I'm an idiot. Despite myself treating Hiccup terribly this morning and dismissing him from any kind of affection, he still cares about me.

"Hiccup..." I said, my voice shaking from the cold and the emotions. He turned his head slightly to look at my face, feeling the warmth of his breath against my cheek.

"Yes?" he answered, timidly.

Goodness... I thought to myself. What do I say?

"Hiccup...I...I...I saw that you drew me," was all I could get out.

I saw that you drew me?! I thought. That's all you could say in a time like this?!

Hiccup looked away from me. I knew deep down in my heart he had a disappointed look on face, even if I couldn't see it.

"Yeah," he answered, hoarsely. "I did."

"Why?" I asked, trying to see his face. He quickly sprung up on his feet and started walking away, pacing back and forth frantically. His face was looking down, rubbing his head. I could tell he was searching for words, just like me. Hiccup stopped abruptly and faced me.  
"Damnit, Astrid, you know very well why!" he shouted. I flinched in surprise. Hiccup had never raised his voice at me. I was always the one that yelled at him.

"Whoa, Hiccup... What's wrong?" I said, slowly standing up, holding my hands out as if waiting for him to lunge at me. Hiccup laughed and rolled and head in a sarcastic way.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! Don't play dumb with me, Astrid!" he answered, walking toward me as I naturally backed up, confused.

"Hiccup, what the hell are you talking about?" I shouted back, trying to hold my groung. "If you have something to say, then say it!"

Hiccup stood there is disbelief, his shirt ripped and tan skin, brown hair, and green eyes standing out against the white snow. Despite my fear of his outlandish actions right now, he looked incredible to me. I finally saw him as a man, not as Hiccup, the weird little viking kid anymore. This new emotion in him changed him right then and there in that moment. There was something new.

Hiccup breathed in, almost like he was preparing himself for something big. I braced myself, because at this point, I had no idea what he was going to do.

"Astrid...I love you." he said, choking at his words. I stood there, shocked.

"W-what?" I answered, trying to avoid eye contact. This was getting uncomfortable for me...

"You heard me, Astrid!" he shouted, walking toward me. He approached and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at his face. The butterflies were constant now, and I didn't like it.

"I've loved you the very minute I laid eyes on you! When I was an apprentice at the blacksmith shop and I'd see you with Snotlout, running around, talking about your dreams to fight the dragons...you were a goddess to me. I wanted you to notice me so bad, but you thought of me as nothing but the weird viking kid. But once I started to not care about all that, you noticed me! And then we defeated the dragon together, and we became best friends, I thought that you really did care about me...perhaps as something more...But you keep pushing me away, and I can't take it anymore!" he shouted hysterically.

He pushed me as he said his final statement. I stood there, shocked, trying to take all of it in. Hiccup was COMPLETELY out of character right now. I've never seen him so fired up about something, let alone to the point of yelling at me. I didn't know what to do.

Hiccup walked backwards away from me with tears in his eyes. He fell to his knees and sat back on his ankles out of exhaustion. I could tell that he had wanted to say these things for a long time, and now he's finally said them, he's numb.

Hiccup took his face in hands and wept. I still stood there, not knowing what to do. It took about a good 10 minutes for Hiccup to stop crying and look up at me. His green eyes were so bright from the tears against the white winter, that it felt like he staring into my soul. I felt completely numb.

"Well?" he said, choked up from the emotions. "Please say something. I'm begging you."

I stared at him. My feet took me towards him, my knees bending to get on his level. My mind was blank. What in the world do I say to this?

"Hiccup..." I said, touching his face lightly. "Hiccup, I do care about you... a lot. More than a lot. But I don't know what to do..."

He pushed my arm away from him, burning me with his eyes.

"Forget it," he said, emotionless. He looked away from my gaze. "I knew you didn't feel the same." At that moment, Toothless arrived with a coat in his mouth, just as Toothless had instructed. Hiccup slowly stood up and walked toward Toothless, taking the coat out of his mouth and putting it on himself.

"Keep the coat," he said to me without turning around. Hiccup climbed on top of Toothless, finally making eye contact with me.

Then... something snapped in me.

"I'M pushing you away?" I said back to him. "I'M the one that's pushing away? Look at you right now! I'm trying to talk to you, and you won't even let me explain myself!" I was losing it. I marched myself straight up to Toothless. "How can you turn your back to me without hearing what I have to say on the matter?!" Hiccup hopped off Toothless in one swoop, standing in front of me, nose to nose.

"Because I've given you 5 months to hear what you have to say on the matter, giving you chance after chance after chance, and even now when I spill my guts to you, you STILL have nothing to say! What do you expect me to do? Keep waiting for you? I'm not going to do that to myself, Astrid. No matter how much it hurts."

The both of us had our guards up intensely now. Hiccup was angry as ever, but I wasn't going to let that take me down.

"Are you kidding me, right now?! You of all people should know how it is with me!" I said, smacking him the chest, pushing him against Toothless. Toothless was starting to growl at me, but I remained unintimidated.

"You don't think I know that you lived a bad life? That your parents left you, leaving you with that crazy widow? Of course I know! That's why I'm trying to open you up," he answered, standing himself back up.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" I said, getting in his face.

"Astrid, you have these walls up that I've been trying to tear down for 5 months straight. Sure, you've let me see over them sometimes, but they're still there. You never let me show you how I feel, and we always remain the same way that we are because of them. Don't you want more, Astrid? Aren't you tired of this? Don't you want to be loved?!"

I stood there, speechless. I started to grow even more angry, my battle instincts taking over my thoughts.

"Don't you DARE tell me what I want and don't want, Hiccup. You know better than that. I know exactly what I want, and when I want something, I get it!" Hiccup let his guard down and stared.

"So what are you saying?" he asked, looking defeated. I kept my guard.

"I'm saying that it I wanted ANYTHING from you, I would have gotten it WAY before now."

"So...you don't love me?"

"I'm Astrid Hofferson. I'm a viking, and every viking knows that love is WEAKNESS," I said in one long breath. I breathed in triumph.

Hiccup nodded his head in defeat, looking away from my gaze and backing up. I had won the battle, and I felt good. Amazing, even! I haven't won a fight in quite some time, and it was good to feel that I was in control of something.

"Well," Hiccup said, looking up at me, his green eyes turning grey, "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

Hiccup then got on Toothless, and took off, leaving me alone. His words echoed in my head. Wasting my time?

"Oh no..." I said, finally realizing what had just happened. "What have I done?"

**GO AND REVIEW! Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. True Friends

**Hello wonderful people! Hope you're all having an awesome day. Again, thank you all for reading, I appreciate it so much! I've been hearing positive feedback so far, so I'm really glad most of you guys like it! And please, REVIEW! Enjoy chapter 4!**

On the ride back home from the sanctuary, I kept replaying Hiccup's words over and over in my mind. "Don't you want to be loved..." I couldn't really wrap my mind around it. All of my life, I guess I've never really known love. My parents did abandon me as a baby, and I didn't like thinking about it... In fact, I've pretty much blocked it out of my mind. When Hiccup brought it up again, my stomach churned in a squeamish manner. Just the thought of my parents leaving me all alone by the docks to die... Why didn't they take me? Did I ruin their lives? What was wrong with me?

My eyes started to fill with tears and spill out at the thoughts brewing in my mind.

"Damnit!" I cursed, wiping the water from my cheeks. I hated crying. Whenever I would cry as a kid, Edna would just smack me across the face and told me to toughen up.

I remember one day in particular when I wanted to go outside and play with Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were my neighbors.

"Auntie Edna," I asked, timidly walking behind her, afraid of her yelling at me again. She spun around and took my shirt in her balled fist, staring me in the eye.

"I thought I told you to go to the stables and collect the milk from the goats, you ignorant child!" she spewed in my face. Her breath always smelled of rotten eggs and cheap alcohol.

"I finished, ma'am!" I choked up, showing her my bucket full of fresh milk I had in my hand. Edna's face became suspicious.

"...Fine then," she eyed me down, making me shiver with fear. "Go to your bed chamber and stay there. I bring your bowl of gruel by sun down," she growled, pushing me away. Edna turned around to continue her drinking at her desk.

"But Auntie Edna..." I whimpered, "My friends, the twins who live next door, well, they were wondering if I could play with them today." Edna turned around on her stool, her eyes bugging out from her skull, her face reddening with anger.

"Excuse, me?!" she fumed, slowly standing up.

"Please, ma'am!" I begged, raising my voice. "I finished all of my chores for the day, and I would only be gone for an hour! I'll be back by sundown! PLEASE ma'am! I just want to go outside!" I was crying hysterically at this point, desperately trying to get her to come around. Edna smacked in the face, leaving me frozen, touching my face where the impact was. Edna bent her knees and sat back on her ankles, coming to my level. She took hold of shoulders and made me look into her eyes.

"Don't you remember what I told you, my dear girl?" she said, her voice soft, but low and menacing. "Crying. Is. Weakness." I look at her in despair.

"Please, ma'am...All I want is go outside and play," I whispered back, in fear. Edna's face turned soft, an expression rarely seen on her face.

"Astrid, do you love me?" I was very surprised at this remark. Edna had never spoken about love or affection to me, let alone showed any. I huffed a breath through my little chest.

"No," I said, defiantly. Yes, I was a scared little kid back then, but guess where I got my anger issues? Yup, you're correct.

Edna smiled at this response.

"Good," she whispered, "Because love is weakness as well." She stood up, grabbing me by the arm, tugging me as if I were a dog. "And if I loved you too, I'd let you go outside." We reached my room and she pushed me in, closing my door and locking the key. "Sadly, I don't."

I didn't get let out of my room for 48 hours after that. She never brought my grool. I was only 8 years old.

I'm 17 now, and old enough to care for myself. So, I moved into an old abandoned barn when I turned 15, and made it into sort of a house for myself. It was also big enough for Stormfly, so we could fit in together well. The barn was really close to Hiccup's house as well, so that's how we saw each other so much. The chieftain is always very generous to me well, because we knew about my situation, and helped pay for my education, meals, life needs, anything. He was a really kind man to me. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with Hiccup, I suppose...

Sure, it's not the most amazing life, but it's good enough for me.

As I got back to my barn, I went straight to my bed and curled up in the sheets, wishing I'd disappear. I felt so ashamed of myself... All of my life, I never wanted to be as evil as Edna, but without me even realizing it, I became her. It wasn't until now when I was so abominably rude to Hiccup that I understand now. And Hiccup, of all people! How could I do that to him? All he wanted was to love me... And deep down in myself, I wanted him to. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right about my walls. I do have them up, and as long as I remained who I am, they were never going to come down, not even for Hiccup.

As these thoughts swirled around in my head, I heard a knock at the door. I flipped the covers off of my head, sitting up.

"Hiccup?" I asked, timidly. I wanted so much for it to be him...

"Nope," Ruffnut said, peeking in from the ajar door. I laid back down with a thud on the bed in disappointment. Ruffnut and I have known each other since we were kids, but we were never as close as Hiccup and I were. Still, any company would cheer me up right now.

"Come on in. It's quite the party," I mumbled, rolling over in my bed, looking out the window. I could see Hiccup's house perfectly though it. It was almost sundown and there weren't any lights on in the house. If Hiccup and Toothless left the sanctuary and weren't home yet, they probably went for a joy ride.

Ruffnut went over to Stormfly's corner and patted her on the head. She then came to my bed and sat down at the foot, looking in the same direction as I was, out the window.

"I couldn't help but overhear what happened at the meeting this morning," she said. "Are you okay?" I closed my eyes in embarrassment. Hiccup's words filled my mind again. 'Don't you want to be loved?' Well, here was Ruffnut, trying to be a friend. Isn't that what love is? Maybe I should give it a try...

"You know what, Ruffnut? No, I'm not okay. Far from it, actually," I said, still looking out the window. Looking at the house was so painful, but I couldn't look away.

Ruffnut faced me, putting her left leg on the bed with her right over her left ankle, making herself at home.

"Wow..." she said, "If you actually admit it, then something is really up." She smiled at me, but her eyebrows were knitted with concern. "Wanna talk about it?"

I sat up, looked her straight in the eye, and started from the beginning. The VERY beginning, with the stories of Edna, how I turned into her, and how I practically pushed Hiccup out of my life forever because of it. Ruffnut sat in silence and took in everything I said, listening intently. After my speech was over, Ruffnut took my hand.

"I'm sorry," she said, giving me a genuine smile. "You wanna know what I think?"

"Please," I said, exasperated.

"I think," Ruffnut said, "that you are NOT Edna. You're far from her." I looked at her like she was crazy.

"And how is that?" I said, releasing my hand from hers and criss-crossing my legs under the sheets.

"Because you love," she said, smiling. "You may think you don't, but you do. I believe that you really go love Hiccup. The only thing that's keeping you from it, is how you show it." I sat up in surprise.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows together.

"Because, stupid!" she said, nudging me, "You never even smiled that much until you got to know Hiccup. In fact, if you didn't even meet him, you probably wouldn't be having this conversation with me right now." My eyes grew wide. "Plus, I see the way you look at him. Sure, you're face can look angry at him sometimes, but there's something in your eyes that says otherwise." I laughed at this.

"Since when have you become the love guru?!"

"Hey, you asked for my opinion, and letting you have it!" She laughed back at me. We laughed for a good 10 minutes before we could get a hold of ourselves again. I mean, it was crazy! The two tough viking girls of the village talking about boys and relationships?! We thought it was hilarious!

"Seriously, though," said Ruffnut, holding my shoulders smiling, "Don't give up on Hiccup. If he really loves you, which I KNOW he does, he'll come around." I smiled at this.

"Thanks, Ruffnut," I said, "I really needed this." I have her a little hug to show her my gratitude. She quickly pushed me off and started laughing again.

"Jeez, he really has changed you! Wait until I tell everyone ASTRID gave me a HUG!" We started laughing again.

"Now the question is, what do I do now?" I asked, windless from laughter. Ruffnut's face lit up from an idea.

"The ball!" she said, "That's it!"

"What about it?" I asked.

"Astrid, the ball in in less than 2 days. This is the perfect way to let you show him how you feel!" The lightbulb went off in my head. I looked over at Stormfly who was sound asleep. I was starting to get a crazy, CRAZY, idea...

"Uh oh.." said Ruffnut, noticing the look on my face.

"Ruffnut, will you help me?" I asked, shaking her arm in excitement.

"Sure, what are we going?" she asked, fear shaking a little in her voice.

"We're going to need dragons," I said, smiling at her, "Lots, and LOTS, of dragons."****

What's going to happen next?! Favorite and follow this story to find out! I'm definitely not leaving this story any time soon, so stick around to see where it'll go! PLEASE REVIEW! I'M BEGGING YOU! Thanks again for reading, and have an awesome day! :)


	5. Not So Happy Endings

**Hey guys! I've been getting a lot of positive feedback, and I appreciate it so much! Thanks for making my first story on FanFic an awesome experience. :) Just a heads up, I'll definitely be posting a new chapter every day until THIS MONDAY, the 7th. After Sunday, updates won't be posted as regularly as they have been because that's when my busy schedule picks up from where it left off before the holidays. So, if you want to be the first to know when I update next time, you can always follow/favorite the story and you will always know when I post more! And don't worry, I won't disappear or anything. Chapters will come, just not as fast. Again, thanks so much everyone, and here's chapter 5!**

After spending all night setting everything up, the surprise was complete. It was about noon in Berk, the time when Hiccup is usually hanging out with me in town, and if I know him, he'll be there, even if he is still mad at me. Hiccup was kind of the OCD type when it came to his daily schedule.

I sat on the roof of the Blacksmith shop, where Hiccup worked, trying to blend into my surroundings. I've been sitting there for about an hour waiting for Hiccup to show up and to give Ruffnut the signal, but he hasn't showed up yet... I was starting to worry. What if he really doesn't show up? After everything I've done, if he doesn't come, I might have a reason to not talk to him anymore... Even though it would still kill me even more than the situation hurts me right now.

"Anything?" Ruffnut asked, looking up at me from the ground behind the neighboring building, still somehow keeping all of the dragons at bay. I shook my head in disappointment. Ruffnut sighed in annoyance. "If this kid doesn't show up, I'm going to seize all of these dragons onto the town," she mumbled under her breath. Of course she was kidding, but it still worried me.

Around the whole town square, there was a dragon behind every single building and shop. We spent all night training them into this formation and into the little performance. Each dragon had a sign in its mouth, and one dragon would fly over the square, one after the next, spelling out my proposal to Hiccup to go to the ball with me. The big finish would be the dragons getting into a pyramid in the air, LIGHTLY breathing fire. The last touch was Ruffnut's idea. She thought it would add a dramatic, artistic effect. When she became artistic, I have no idea...

I was starting to become nervous... What if he never shows up? Or worse, what if he DOES and completely turns me down in front of the whole town? Ruffnut told me time and time again last night that he wouldn't dare turn it down, because it was going to be so awesome. However, something deep down in me told me that this wasn't going to work out... I just pray to Thor that it does.

"Astrid!" Ruffnut whisper-shouted up to me, disrupting my train of thought, "He's here! Look!"

Ruffnut pointed down to the square. Hiccup was standing right in the middle of the square, talking to Gobber. Well, more like Gobber was talking to Hiccup and he was just kind of staring at the ground with a depressed look on his face. It was obvious that he was still upset about the incident that happened between us last night. Guilt tugged at my heartstrings even more, and my stomach churned with regret and nervousness.

It was time to set things right.

I looked down at Ruffnut, who was looking back at me, ready to sound the signal. I gave her a small nod, indicating to let it rip. I curled up a ball, trying to make myself feel even more invisible as possible, and waiting for the show to start.

Ruffnut's dragon flew into the air over the square, holding the sign "Hiccup!" It caught everyone's attention. Even Hiccup looked up, which gave me some hope. Ruffnut's dragon quickly hid to let the other dragon's have a turn in the center of the square.

The dragon's kept flying over and over, one by one. According to how Ruffnut and I organized it, the dragon's sign should spell out, "Hiccup! Will you go to the ball with Astrid?" My name on the sign would come right after the pyramid show by the dragons, making it a huge spectacle. Stormfly would come out and do her awesome flying tricks, like her corkscrews and loops.

Each time a new dragon would appear with a new sign, more and more people gathered to the center of the square. Everyone was asking Hiccup what was happening, since his name was on one of the signs. Hiccup was just as confused as everyone else, waiting to see what would happen next. A smile was growing on his face. My heart started to feel better about everything already.

Let's hope he assumes this is from me, I thought. Please let this work!

Finally, all of the dragons began their formation of the pyramid in mid air. Everything was going so well! Everyone applauded at the sight, and when the dragon's let loose a little bit of fire, everyone "ooo'ed" and "aww'ed" at the sight! My heart was beating with excitement. There was only one last thing to happen to seal the deal, and win back Hiccup's heart.

Alright, Stormfly, I thought. Work your magic, girl!

Everyone waited to see what would happen next...and waited...and waited. Nothing was happening. Why wasn't anything happening? Where's Stormfly?!

"Ruffnut!" I shouted down to her, "Where's Stormfly?!"

"I left her in the right spot! She knew exactly what to do! I don't know what's going on!" she responded, a worrisome look on her face.

"Dear Gods," I said to myself, "What is going on?"

All of a sudden, another dragon that wasn't Stormfly appeared out of blindsight. On top of the dragon, sat Peggy Pearlington, the most gorgeous, richest, and "most popular" girl in Berk. Every viking man in town wanted Preggy for their own, but she always thought she was too good for anyone in this town. She never had any interest in dragon training when it was popular, so her parents didn't make her do it. The Pearlington's owned the most successful fish business in the Scottish Highlands, even some parts of Ireland, and were even better off than Hiccup was.

Peggy's long, raven hair blew in the wind, flying in the air, and finally landing right in the middle of the square. Her flawless ivory skin almost glowed as she slowly got down off of her dragon, making the biggest appearance with her light pink, slinky looking dress. Everyone made way for her, backing up and whispering to one another. She walked right up to Hiccup, put a hand to his face, and kissed his cheek. My blood began to boil.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, will you go to the ball with me, Peggy Pearlington?"

My jaw dropped. Ruffnut's jaw dropped, Hiccup's jaw dropped, EVERYONE'S jaw dropped.

"Hiccup..." I whispered to myself, "Please, Hiccup..." I felt the tears coming, and I knew I couldn't stop them.

"Peggy, I..." Hiccup choked up, not knowing what to do. He looked around nervously, almost as if he expected someone to be there... perhaps me. But I didn't come.

"Of course he will!" yelled Stoick, walking through the crowd and taking a hold of Hiccup's shoulders, shaking them. "Why wouldn't he?! Congrats, my boy! You've got yourself the best girl to go to the ball with tomorrow!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered, and Peggy hugged Hiccup. At that moment, I could hear my heart shatter into a million little pieces. The tears doused my cheeks, falling onto the roof, freezing at the impact. I quickly jumped off of the roof and ran into the forest, not looking back.

"Astrid, wait!" shouted Ruffnut, but her concerns weren't going to stop me. I ran and ran and ran until I couldn't hear the town's cheer any longer. Everything was ruined. I lost Hiccup forever. I should've told him I loved him... Even if I wasn't sure, because then at least I would still have him. But there's no way he'll ever come back to me after having an offer from Peggy, the most perfect girl on the planet.

I just kept running. Maybe if I ran long enough, the pain and the thoughts would go away, and I would feel numb. But the more I ran, the more the thoughts ate at my heart. I stopped in my tracks, looking around. I was completely alone, and that's how it always has been.

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup...I'm so sorry," I said out loud, falling to the ground. Snow started to fall lightly on top of me as I laid down on the cold frozen ground, crying. I felt like the scared little 8 years old girl I was once, fetching the milk from the barn and crying, wishing my life was different. The pain was just too much.

Hiccup was right. I did have these walls up, and because of them, it caused me so much pain, and loss.

And I didn't want to feel the pain anymore. ****

And this is where this chapter will stop for today! Who the heck is this chick, anyway? Follow or favorite my story to find out! The story absolutely will not end here, guys. Plenty of more chapters to come! I know some of you Hiccstrid fans are waiting for the romance to start, but trust me, it's coming! Don't worry! Thanks so much for reading, and PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Have an awesome day, guys! :)


	6. Revenge

**Hey everyone! I hope you're all having an amazing day! There's not a lot for me to say except for thanks again for being such awesome people and giving me positive feedback! It means the world to me :) So, why don't we plunge right in, shall we? Here's chapter 6! Enjoy :)**

When I woke, my head was dizzy and light. The world swirled and was fuzzy. I couldn't make out anything or anyone. Then, all of a sudden, I felt the biggest, wet substance go up the side of my face. My eyesight finally focused, and looked over to discover Stormfly sitting by my bedside, waiting for me to wake up. I patted her on the head and smiled.

Wait... I thought to myself. I'm in my room?

I sat up as fast as I could and looked around. The last thing I could remember was being in the forest, lying down, crying hysterically. I guess I must have cried myself to sleep, or almost froze to death from the cold ground. I looked over at Stormfly, who wagged her tail back. I assumed that found me and brought me back. She was such a good girl to me.

Then I remembered Hiccup... And Peggy. I remembered everything from the day before. My heart sank once again, and I fell back onto my bed, engulfing the sheets around me, so I could feel like I was being swallowed. I just wanted to disappear. Yes, I've always been a sad person, when I wanted to admit/show it, but I had dragon slaying and my tough exterior to show people that I wasn't weak. That was because of my walls. They never showed anyone who the real person was, deep down inside. As much as I hated to admit it, I was a frail, weak, sad little girl who wanted love just like every other person, and because of Hiccup, those walls were gone, and left me here in my bed, sulking about my horrible life. I was beginning to feel helpless.

As my depressing thoughts filled my brain, I heard a knock on the door.

"If you don't want to see anything pathetic, I suggest you leave now," I muttered, not picking up my head from my pillows. I wasn't in the mood to see anyone. Ruffnut gladly let herself in, anyway. Out of all of the people that would come to visit, I suppose she would be the only one I'd let in, other than Hiccup... But that was never going to happen.

Ruffnut sat at the foot of my bed once again. I looked down at her, realizing she had one of those, "I need to tell you something, but I don't know how," faces. I sighed in defeat.

"Alright, tell me and get it over with," I grumbled, sitting up, bracing myself for the worst.

_

"Astrid, wait!" I shouted back, as I saw her running into the forest, not even looking back. It was evident that Astrid wasn't taking this well... And it made my blood boil.  
I turned around behind the Bakery Shop and looked back at the square. Peggy was still "glowing" like the little priss she was. She was delicately holding Hiccup's hand while she was greeting her fans, flipping her nasty long black hair over her skinny little shoulder. Hiccup looked distressed and uncomfortable, but Stoick was standing there beaming at the sight, leaving Hiccup to have no other choice but to go through it.

"You little bitch," I sprayed under my breath. Sure, Astrid and I were never the best of friends, but recently she's become my friend, and I didn't like what was happening. I was going to stand up for her and make things right, because no one should have to go through this. Besides, I've had my share of heartbreak many times...

I quickly looked back at my Hideous Zippleback, who was still at my side. I hopped on as fast as I could. I wanted to get back in time to catch that ugly little creaton who stole my friend's boyfriend.

"Okay you, take me to the side of the mountain outside of town, and hurry!" I said, while kicking her in the necks. The two heads bumped into each other, causing precious time to be lost. "GET YOUR BUTTS INTO THE SKY, IDIOTS!" I yelled back at them. They quickly took off without any hiatus this time, leaving me to breathe easy again. Astrid and I told Stormfly to start at the ledge outside of town to take off for the big finale of the proposal. Whatever happened to her had to happen there.

We finally approached the landing, and I could clearly see Stormfly tied up, wiggling around, trying to escape. I fumed in anger. I hopped off of my dragon, quickly took out my knife, and began cutting at the rope.

"Stormfly, what in the world is going on?!" I asked, worried. Whoever tied up Stormfly must have tied up a dragon before, which worried me...

Stormfly gusted out breath and as I cut her loose, sniffing out the air, no doubt trying to get the scent of her manipulator.

"Can you smell them, girl?" Stormfly jumped in response, I assuming that she could. "Take me to them," I said, swiftly jumping up on Stormfly. Even though I had no idea where we were going, wherever we went, I was expecting to see Peggy there. I didn't trust her one bit.

We of course landed in the square again, where the crowd was finally starting to diminish. I dragged Stormfly and Hideous over behind the bakery shop again, waiting for the coast to be clear. Stormfly snorted and growled at the sight of Peggy, who was obviously the culprit of the situation. I smiled in satisfaction. While we were waiting for my moment to strike, I couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Oh Hiccup! I'm so happy you said yes!" said Purgy, going in for the hug again. I rolled my eyes is disgust. What was this piece of crap she was pulling? Hiccup looked uncomfortable and awkward as ever, which was weird, because he always looked like that. I had to laugh at that, because I could tell he was absolutely miserable.

Good things to tell Astrid, I thought. Which made me remember..

"Shit! I forgot about Astrid!" I said, my jaw dropping. I quickly turned to Stormfly and told her to go to the wood and find Astrid, no matter what state she's in, and take her home to rest. I'd be there as soon as I was finished with this. Stormfly huffed at me in suspicion. I could tell that she wanted to get Purgy as much as I wanted to

"Don't worry, girl," I said, taking my axe out of my belt and tossing it from hand to hand, "I got this." Stormfly nodded her head slightly and took off over the trees in search of her. I knew that Stormfly would find her, but I was still worried for my friend. I quickly looked back over to the square. There were still too many witnesses around...

"Oh yeah!" said Hiccup, in response to the hug, while trying to shimmy out of it. "It's a...yeah, well, um... See ya tomorrow!" He whirled around and quickly ran home. I wanted to so much to stop him and tell the truth about what happened, but my opportunity for revenge was nye... I had to stay.

Peggy watched him run off in confusion.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, so "innocently", to Stoick, who of course, fell for it and patted her on the head in re-assurance. I could see right through her fake little facade.

"Oh, no, my dear! He's just...uh...nervous! Yes, nervous about the ball. I'm sure he went right home to go prepare for it! After all, he will have the most beautiful girl on his arm tomorrow night!" said Stoick with pride.

Good Gods, I thought, shaking my head. The lack of fighting in this town has really turned this guy to mush... But I can fix that.

"Oh, Mister Chieftain, you're very kind!" said Purgy, placing her hand on his forearm. Stoick patted her head, and walked away back to the town capitol building, leaving Peggy alone in the middle of the square. Now was the time to strike...

"Get ready for the great purge, Purgy... Because here I come."

"YYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH HHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I shouted, as I lifted my axe and ran full speed at Purgy. I wanted to make this shit a SHOW.

Peggy turned around and held her hands out, whimpering like a little "damsel in distress," but I knew she was just doing it for show as well. Well, two can play at that game.

In one quick whirlwind of action, I pinned her down with all of the weight of my body so her slinky little self couldn't get away. I didn't brush my teeth this morning, so I made sure to breathe as much in her face as possible.

"So, princess. That was quite a show wasn't it," I said, holding my axe to her chin.

"Help!" she whimpered, not even screaming, "Please! This man is a gorilla!" I laughed at her insult.

"You think I haven't heard that one, yet? Please, I'm called a man everyday, and I take that as a compliment." I took the blade down to her jugular, threatening her at most. "Now talk, princess. How did you know, and why did you do it?"

Peggy's little innocent face vanished, and a menacing, devilish grin replaced it. Her teeth almost seemed green at the conniving smile. It was like I was looking in a mirror... Sort of.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she answered back. All of sudden, she flipped me around, and I was the one pinned down.

"What the-" I muttered, but she quickly put her hand in my mouth, making my verbality impossible. I was surprised at this, because this is what I always to do Tuffnut when he insults me too much. Where did she learn this tactic? She's never had dragon training before...

"No, you shut up, and let me do the talking," she said. Her pretty little face wasn't so pretty anymore. "Your little friend, Esther, is it?" I spat on her hand, assuring her that it wasn't her name.

This little bitch... I thought, my teeth strengthening with anger.

"Well, I knew all about your little plan. I watched you too all night from my window at my house. I watched carefully, saw your tactics about your plan, and decided to have a little fun with it as well," she smiled, evilly. She was up to no good.

"Why, you ask?" she asked, poking at my face with her perfect nails. "For revenge," she sneered, pulling in even closer to my face. She smelled like lavender, and anything girly made me want to throw up. "I'm sure you're familiar with this, aren't you? Well, I think this was very over-do, and I decided, why not now when it involved her precious little Hiccup?"

At this, I bit down as hard as I could on her fingers. She screamed, took her hand out, and I lunged. We rolled over one another, fighting for the advantage, until my adrenaline and anger got the best of her. I forced her down this time, pulling her long hair and holding it to my axe. At this, she didn't dare move. I knew prissies when I saw them.

"How DARE you?" I spewed at her face, watching it turn from confidence to fear. I smiled at this. "You know nothing of my friend's situation." Peggy laughed.

"Oh contraire, my friend, I know ALL about it. How Hiccup loves Esther, and how she loves him too, however she's too stupid to do anything about it-" I interrupted her with my blade, still tightening around her chin.

"Her name is ASTRID you idiot, and she DID try to do something about it, and you RUINED IT!" I screamed in her face. I was becoming even more angry with everything she said. I wasn't going to let her win this fight.

"Because that would've been the best time to get my revenge! If you knew, you'd understand," she said, spewing back in my face. I choked her with my blade for a second, threatening her,

"Try me," I lowered my voice, looking at her with force. She then began to relax.

"You think you and Astrid are the only ones who don't know love?" she said, with no emotion. Her face became a blank page. "Because you're not. I'm pretty familiar with it myself."

"And if you are, then why are you doing this to her?!" I asked, choking at my words. I found myself getting emotional at this situation... Ew. Peggy lifted up her head at me and got in my face, her scary silver eyes bugging out, threatening me.

"Because of her, I will never be with the viking I love," she whispered. I cocked my head at her in surprise. Who would she love that had to do with Astrid?... Then I realized who it was...

I began to laugh uncontrollably. I got off of her and fell over to the ground, holding my sides. This was something else!

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she screamed, kicking at me as she stood herself up. "You think this is funny?!"

"YES!" I laughed even harder. I was literally rolling around, losing everything. There was no way I could hold it in, though. IIt was just too much for me too handle...Her? A-and...HIM?!

_

"I pretty much laid there laughing my head off for a good 20 minutes, and she eventually just walked away. GOOD GODS it was funny!" said Ruffnut, still laughing at the situation. "I mean, come on, HIM?! Of all people, she loves HIM?!"

I started to laugh, too. I now understood why she hates me so much, but come on, would you really make that huge interference with my plan to get back at me for something that I don't even want? Something that isn't even my fault? She doesn't even like Hiccup!

"Before I came here, I found him and asked him about it. Apparently they went to another dragon training course before we ours in town, which surprised me, because he sucked big time with our training. Apparently that's where she became obsessed with him, and where she learned her combat training. She didn't want to train with us, 'peasants.'" explained Ruffnut, holding her nose up at the last reference. I laughed, picturing the sight of those two in the battle ring, him being...well...himself...and her being flawless and getting everything right. It just didn't make sense in my brain.

"He's also completely oblivious to her feelings toward him, which was even more hysterically hilarious," Ruffnut added, making me laugh along. I shook my head of the laughter and tried to be more serious about the situation.

"We've got to get her back, somehow... This is ridiculous!" I said, jumping out of bed and pacing. I looked over at Ruffnut, who had the craziest look on her face. She started to wag to finger at me in thought.

"Uh oh.." I said, looking at her in fear, "What's your plan?"

"The ball is tonight, right?" she said, standing up with me.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Do you have a dress?" she asked, running over to my closet to see what I have. I laughed at this.

"Ruffnut, it's ME. You think I have a dress?" Ruffnut looked back at me in disappointment, realizing I had nothing in my wardrobe.

"Well, get dressed! It's almost noon. We're going out to get you a dress!" she said, waving her hands at me to get moving.

"And why are we doing this?" I said, pulling my combat boots over my pants.

"Because you're going to the ball with Snotlout tonight."****

That's the end of chapter 6! I really hope you guys liked it. I wanted to play around with different perspectives, and what better perspective than Ruffnut's in that situation? I might do some different characters later, so get ready for that! And for all of my Hiccstrid romantics out there, don't worry, the ball is coming soon! If you want to find out what happens next, follow my story and you'll be the first to know! Thanks for reading guys, and stay awesome! :)


	7. Fly, Fly Away

**Happy Saturday! I hope everyone has had an awesome weekend so far! I know I have. Just a reminder, tomorrow's update will be the last fast update I do for this story, so if I'm gone for a couple days or a week after Sunday, it's just because of my busy schedule, which I know all of you can relate. Bare with me, though! I'm not going to be done with this story for a long time. Thanks for being awesome, and without further ado, here's chapter 7!**

"You think Hiccup will like this dress?" I said, twirling around in the mirror of the local dress shop with Ruffnut, scrunching up my face in disgust. Being in a dress made my feel like a fru fru little priss like that Peggy Pearlington. Dressing up and "being pretty" just really wasn't my thing.

"No, but Snotlout will like it. It matches his face, ugly and green," sad Ruffnut, laughing and sharpening her axe, leaning against the wall of the shop.

The memory of Snotlout's proposal to the ball a couple days ago was still vivid in my mind, which I REALLY wanted to erase... It wasn't that I hated Snotlout, it's just that he'd be a lot more tolerable if he didn't act like a douche bag all of the time. I personal think he's "bad ass"-ness is all a show, which honestly makes even less appealing than before.

_

Before Ruffnut and I headed to the shop, we caught Snotlout in the square talking to more girls, who of course were obviously not interested. He frantically asked so many girls at once if they would go to the ball with them, but they all turned him down, and walked away. He took his helmet and threw it to the ground in frustration.

"Well, Snotlout..." I said, while he twirled around and picked up his helmet, trying to act tough again. "I'll make a deal with you."

"Oh? And what's that, Miss "I'm too good for you," he said, as he popped a hip out and mocked me in a valley girl accent, which I clearly didn't have...

"Shut up and listen, stupid!" said Ruffnut, punching him in the arm. Snotlout grabbed his arm at the impact, obviously hurt, but trying to cover it up.

"Look, I know that I was rude, and I'm sorry," I said, painfully, trying to cough up the words.

"Oh, really?" said Snotty, raising one eyebrow at me in suspicion.

"Yes...really," I said, looking down in frustration. I took another step forward and forced myself to look at him in the eye, trying to keep my lunch down. "And...I'll go to the ball with you, if you still want to go."

"REALLY?!" he shouted, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me furiously with excitement, with widest grin I've ever seen on his face.

"Stop that!" I said, pushing him off of me, "Yes, I'll go with you, but only on one condition."

"Anything!" he said, getting down on his knees and hugging my legs. It was evident that at this point, he was desperate for a date, and I was his savior.

"Well, for starters, you can get up and stop acting like a 12 year old girl!" said Ruffnut, grabbing him by the sides and picking him up like a little kid. Snotlout quickly composed himself.

"Hey, I'm no girl!" he spat back in protest.

"Would you just listen?! I don't have all day!" I snapped back, getting in his face.

"Fine, go."

I handed out my list of Do's and Don't's for the ball. If he was to be my escort, he had to do it right and NOT get in my way of getting Hiccup back. Snotlout began reading out loud the list, his voice crescendoing with each list item.

"'Don't touch me, Don't ask me to dance, Never pull out my chair for me, Don't talk to me when I'm doing something important?!' Astrid, this is ridiculous!" he said, having the list in my face. I quickly grabbed his wrist and push back to his side.

"Look, I have something I need to do tonight... And the only way in this thing is with a date, so I need to you to AT LEAST get me inside, but other than that, I'm done with you."

I expected him to be furious, but he actually nodded along with my plan.

"It's about Hiccup, isn't it?" he said, raising an eyebrow at me. I looked down, trying to hide my blushing cheeks at the question.

"...Yes, it is," I muttered under my breath.

"I knew you liked him," he said, "but I just didn't want to believe it. I mean, you and him?!" I punched him in the arm, this time making him yell with pain.

"Shut up!" I spat, rubbing my knuckles from the impact.

"Fine, I'll go along with this stupid little plan of yours, but YOU have to let me dance with whoever I want tonight," he said, pointing his finger in my face. Ruffnut leaned over and cupped her hand over my ear.

"I'm sure Purgy will be happy about that," she whispered. We both laughed uncontrollably. It still got to us...

"What?!" said Snotlout, becoming furious. "Are you talking about me?! What did you say!?"

"Trust me, Snotty. You'll find out at the ball tonight," I said, trying to hold down the laughter.

"Hey, we better get to the shop before it closes. We only have a couple hours to spare," Ruffnut added, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the shop.

"Snotlout, meet me at the dress shop at 7:30, and don't be late, or I'll murder you!" I said over my shoulder while starting to run toward the shop with Ruffnut.

"Hey Astrid!" he shouted back. I quickly turned around and raised my arms in annoyance. He smiled at me. "Pick out something pretty. Hiccup will die."

I smiled back at him and looked down, my cheeks blushing again.

"Shut up, Snotty," I said, looking up at him. I quickly ran off without looking back.

Wait... I thought to myself as I ran, Did I actually just have a pleasant conversation with Snotlout?

_

"I don't know, Ruffnut..." I said, throwing another dress in the reject pile, which was piling up quickly. "I'm just not cut out for this kind of stuff. Dragon training? Combat? I'm all for that, but dressing up? It's just... not me."

Ruffnut put her axe back in her belt, looking just as defeated as I was.

"Well, I know as much about this stuff as you do," she said, scratching her head in thought.

"Well what are we going to do?!" I said, throwing my arms up in the air, pacing back and forth. My entire future with Hiccup depended on this night, and if I didn't look as pretty as Peggy, then maybe Hiccup's judgement of character would change...and I couldn't let that happen.

"I can help you," said a small little voice from behind curtains leading into another section of a room in the shop. She entered slowly, yet determined. Her face was stoic. My jaw dropped in complete shock, and the memories flashed across my eyes in milliseconds

It was Edna, my old guardian I left 2 years ago.

Ruffnut quickly noticed it was her as well, taking her axe out of her belt again and holding it firmly in her hand, keeping Edna at bay.

"Please," she said, holding out a hand to Ruffnut, "I won't harm you."

"Edna?" I asked, still in shock from what I was looking at. The Edna I knew was a large, bombastic woman with alcohol on her breath, black hair always a puff on her scalp, and she always looked as if she never bathed. This woman was completely different. She had her short hair combed neatly on her head, wore a typical woman's viking shirt, and a long brown skirt to match. She even had a little makeup on, and she didn't look ugly. She was well put together... Which scared me.

"Yes, Astrid," she said, taking a step toward me, "I know, you must be surprised."

"W-what happened?" I asked, my jaw seeming to fall to the ground at this point. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do or think.

"After you left, I realized how terrible I was to you," she said, looking down at her feet in shame. "I finally saw what a mess my life was." She gestured to the lounge chair against the window of the shop. I sat down silently, watching Edna take a seat next to me. Ruffnut stood by, still keeping her guard up. She remember just as much of the past as I did.

"I've been waiting so long to speak with you," Edna continued, "There's been something I've wanted to tell you." I looked at Ruffnut with suspicion. What do I say to this?

"Okay..." I asked, timidly, "What is it?" Edna took a deep breath in, as if trying to build strength.

"I've been known as the "town widow" here in Berk for as long as I can remember. But, the truth is... I'm not a widow, Astrid. I was never even married. My love left me." I looked at her in confusion. Why was she telling me this?

"You see, before I had my problems with alcohol, I was very much in love," she continued, smiling at the last thought. "When I was young, I went into dragon training myself, and that's where I met him, Abram Pollock. He was the most handsome viking in town."

My mind drifted to Hiccup... He wasn't the most handsome in town to other people's standards, and I didn't even think so at first, but Hiccup was the most handsome kid to me now in the whole world.

"Abram and I were together for about 5 years. Of course, he proposed to me several times during those years, but I always turned him down," she said, her voice becoming somber.

"Why?" I asked, already knowing the answer...

"Because I had walls," she said, proving my estimation correctly. I looked down in shame. "All my life, my parents were so stricted. They were beaters," she said, looking away from me, knowing what she had done. I flinched a little as memories past through my mind... I was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Even though I loved Abram," continued Edna, "I just couldn't let him into my life in that way. I never really showed him how much I really loved him..." she began to form tears in her eyes. This was all sounding a little too familiar for me... I didn't like it. Ruffnut and I were speechless at this point, but we had to get ready for the ball. Yes, I understood that maybe she was trying to apologize for hurting me in my childhood, but I didn't have time for that now. Plus, that woulfn't do much for me anyways. I had to get to Hiccup before it was too late...

"Astrid," she said, interrupting my thoughts, "What I'm trying to say is...is that I had a child with Abram." Ruffnut and I looked at each other. I didn't like where this was going..."And because I refused to marry Abram, he up and left Berk one day, leaving me and my child behind. That's when the drinking began..." My palms began to sweat. I closed my eyes in fear.

"Astrid... she said, taking my hands, "That was baby was-" I ripped my hands away from her and stood up all in one motion, overpowering her.

"No," I said, staring her down.

"Astrid, please, let me-"

"NO!" I screamed, tears falling from my face now. I felt like my heart was being torn into a thousand pieces, shattering into my stomach and ripping everything inside of me. The pain was unbearable, and I couldn't take it.

"Astrid!" shouted Ruffnut, trying to grab me and calm me down. I shrugged her off and nudged her back with my elbow. Edna stood and and tried to touch me again, but I swiped her hand away.

"How could you?!" I cried, the tears falling non stop. Edna stood there, emotionless. "HOW COULD YOU?!" She slowly sat back down on the sofa, looking away from me. I've been waiting to say this for 17 years, and now I finally have my chance.

"I've wondered about you all of my life! When I was a little girl, I dreamed that one day, my parents would come and whisk me away to some fairy tale life, where nothing bad ever happened and only love existed. I wished and hoped so much for them to come, but they never did. Instead, I lived in a HELL HOLE for 15 years of my life, being your slave and being treated like SHIT, and now, you have the decency to tell me that YOU'RE MY MOTHER?!"

Everyone in the room was silent. Edna had her eyes closed, tears running down her face. Ruffnut just stood there, not knowing what to do. My cheeks were puffy from the tears.

"Mothers don't do that," I whispered, softly. "Mother's don't do that to their children." Edna looked up, tears in her eyes as well.

"Astrid, I know how horribly I've treated you... and I know that this is hard for you, but don't you see that I'm trying to fix it? I'm off of alcohol! I own this shop now! I can make you look beautiful for the ball tonight... And after the ball is over, you'll see how I've changed, and you can come back with me... as mother and daughter. Don't you see that I want you back in my life? To set things right?"

"NO," I screamed back in her face, "THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!"

The pain was unbearable. I clenched my face, my senses becoming distant. I couldn't breathe... I couldn't feel. I could faintly hear Ruffnut saying my name, but I couldn't tell what was happening.

The next thing I knew, I was running through the square. I just kept running and running, just like I did with Hiccup, and now I was doing it to Ruffnut and Edna.

That's the only thing I'm good at. Running.

Anxiety was taking over my whole entire body. My breathing was becoming even more shallow, my eyesight becoming blurry. A ringing began to pound in my ears. The thoughts were swirling around in my head...

Edna was my mother. She was my mother all along, the person I've dreamed of all of my life, becoming a real life nightmare.. Hiccup has loved me all along, and I never realized I loved him until now, and I've lost him to perfect Peggy because I didn't get him when I had the chance. I never accepted Snotlout as a person worthy of my friendship. Ruffnut tried to help me, but I just pushed her away because of my selfishness. I pushed everyone away.

These walls. These walls were ruining my life, and I can't take them down... No matter what Hiccup or Ruffnut says, they're up, and I can't even escape my own prison now.

The sanctuary... I thought. That's where I'll escape. That's where I'll find peace.

I ran and ran, and I could see it through my fuzzy eyes. I was ready to fly.

_Goodbye, Hiccup_, I thought, spreading my arms out,_ I'm going to fly with the dragons in the sky._****

And that's the end of chapter 7! I know, I know.. it's a horrible ending to a chapter, but I promise, the next chapter is going to be awesome. I'm already planning it out! To all of you Hiccstrid fans, tomorrow is finally the day! Wanna find out what happens next? Follow/favorite this story and you'll be the first to know! Until tomorrow, have an awesome day! Thank you all for reading again. Without you, there would be no story for me to write! :)


	8. Where I'm Suppose To Be

**Hey guys! It's the chapter we've all been waiting for... HICCSTRID! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well! So, I won't keep you guys waiting any longer. Here's chapter 8! :)**

I felt my life flash before eyes. A color of images flying across the sky of the emotions and the feelings I've felt, the people I've met, the friendships I've made, and the things I've accomplished all danced with the sky, and I was flying with them.

But mostly, there were memories of Hiccup. When we first started dragon combat together, and how I loathed him for stealing my spotlight, and when I finally got to see the real him, and how he showed me what dragons were really like. I remembered our romantic flight... When Toothless took me to the sky for the first time in my life, and I had never felt so weightless and infinite... He opened my eyes to what the world could really be like. He showed me who I could be, what I could do, and so much more, and he didn't even realize it. Hiccup was more than just my friend, he was my inspiration.

Hiccup's face lit the sky as I flew, his bright green eyes shining with the stars. His messy brown hair blowing as the wind blew me as well. He was smiling at me...watching me dance along with the turbulence of the wind. My heart soared, and I felt as if I would burst at the amount of happiness I could feel. I never wanted this moment to end...

And it doesn't have to.

Yes, I did have walls up, and yes, Hiccup tried to tear them down once and was unsuccessful, but that doesn't mean I can't tear them down myself. Hiccup was the reason why Berk made peace with dragons, because Hiccup created a friendship with Toothless. He's also the reason why love came into my world, and no matter how much I resented it in the past, I wanted it to stay there forever, because it's finally made me feel something that's been missing from my life,  
and for him to be by my side.

And that's when I realized...Love isn't weakness. It's strength.

Then, I started to fall out of the sky. Hiccup's face disappeared and the stars faded away. I began to feel scared, like the walls were concaving into me, and I couldn't escape. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my ears. I tried to scream, but only wind came out.

My eyes fluttered open to feel Hiccup's lips upon mine.

I gasped for air, clutching my throat. My eyesight was still a little fuzzy, but once everything came into focus, I saw the most beautiful thing in the world.

It was Hiccup, smiling down on me.

"Hiccup?" I gently whispered, reaching my hand to touch his face. Hiccup clutched mine as our skin impacted, our senses tingling at the touch. Hiccup began to weep tears of joy.

"Yes, Astrid, it's me," he said, smiling so big and bright while the tears were falling down his beautiful handsome face. I immediately sprang up from and wrapped my arms around him, holding him as tightly as I could. And I knew that I was never, EVER going to let go.

Hiccup hugged me back, weeping into my shoulder. His hands felt my back, grasping me as much as he could into the embrace. My body tingled in the reaction. The butterflies in my stomach were non stop at this point, and now I never wanted them to leave.

"Astrid, I thought I lost you," stuttered Hiccup, still weeping into my shoulder. I put my hand on the back of his head and kissed his neck, softly.

"I was the one that lost you, Hiccup," I couldn't contain my happiness. The tears began to fall once again, and this time, I welcomed them. I was tired of being strong. I just wanted to feel.

Hiccup slowly unhinged himself from the embrace, his hands sliding down my arms as he took my hands into his. He brought my hands to his lips and kissed them ever so softly. My smiled widened even more. Hiccup looked up at me, his green eyes sparkling. He looked so handsome... He was wearing a nice black viking suit and a green tie to match his eyes. My eyes were entranced in his, and then my mind wandered back to my dream...

"Hiccup, what happened?" I asked, taking my hands away from his and sitting myself indian style on my bed. I was clearly back in my barn, and Stormfly was gone... I had to know what happened to me.

I took Hiccup's hand and pulled him closer to me on the bed. He sat in front of my indian style as well. He held both of my hands, his thumbs tracing over my skin, sending sensations through my nerves. His face looked down on our entwined fingers, and looked back up to meet my gaze. Hiccup had his usual "you're not going to like this" look he always use to give me when he did something wrong. But this time, it was something more

"Where to start," he said, smiling sadly at me. I nodded my head for him to go on. He puffed his chest out, in hopes for strength to carry him on.

"Well, I was forced to go to the ball with Peggy by my father," he said, rolling his eyes at her name. It made me smile. "Ruffnut told me it was all your idea until she ruined it." Tears came to my eyes again. I looked down in dismay, but Hiccup gently touch of my hand brought my gaze back to his.

"Hiccup... watching her take you like that was the most painful thing I've ever witnessed in my life," I whispered, finally letting myself become vulnerable. Hiccup moved his thumb gently across my face, smiling at me in the most loving way anyone would want to be looked at.

"Really?" he said, his face becoming suddenly surprised. I laughed, because even in a situation like this, Hiccup was still his low self-esteemed self.

"Yes, really," I said, smiling sadly at him. "I felt like I lost you forever."

Hiccup pulled my face toward his, our noses touching, breathing each other in. My eyes closed, letting the moment live itself. Hiccup gently lifted his chin and kissed my forehead, sending shivers down my spine.

"You couldn't lose me if you tried," he said, locking eyes with me. I brushed my bangs behind me ear and looked down in reaction with the flutters in my stomach and the warmth coming to my cheeks. I looked back up at him, and saw that his face turned to stone.

"Ruffnut came and found me before I had to pick up Peggy from the ball," he said, his face stoic as ever. "She said you were running, and that she was worried about you... I got Toothless and went straight to the sanctuary, because that's where I knew you would go. Right when we got there, I saw you jump..." his voice trailed off. I could figure out the rest of what happened... Hiccup saved me from my own suicide attempt.

"Please forgive me," he said, tears coming back into his eyes.

"For what?" I searched his face. "Hiccup, you saved me. I should be the one asking for forgiveness from you. " I was trying to comprehend what he was trying to say. I entwined my hands with his, trying to find something. Hiccup looked down with a disgraceful look on his face. The tears of joy were gone, and these were now tears of sorrow.

"I'm so sorry for all of those things I said to you in the sanctuary the other day... It was wrong of me," he was bawling at this point. He hung his and let the tears fall. I put my hands on his head and buried my nose in his brown hair.

"No, I'M sorry," I said, pulling his chin up to look at me. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, searching my face for an answer.

"Hiccup, you were right all along," I continued, smiling at him, "Everything you said was true, and I needed to hear it." I brushed a piece of hair that was on his forehead off of his his, trailing my fingers down his cheek. He took my hand before it fell down to my lap.

"Astrid, you don't understand," he said, looking around himself frantically, "I feel so incredibly guilty right now for what I've said." Hiccup quickly rose from the bed and started to pace, running his hands through his hair. He whirled around to look at me again, his face growing even more worried. I didn't know what to say.

"If I hadn't have said any of those things," he continued, "The whole Peggy situation would have never happened, and you wouldn't have almost killed yourself by running off of the ledge! It's all my fault"

He banged his fists against the wall after his speech, relieving his frustration. I tried to get up to comfort him, but felt light headed again. Hiccup noticed and helped me lie back down, gently holding me as he did before the town meeting. His hand slid down my back, the other gently holding the back of my shoulders. My senses were on fire from his touch, and our faces just inches from each other. Our eyes locked, like we were in a trance by a snake. Thank Thor he saved me, or else I could never have seen his eyes again...

"Hiccup, have I ever mentioned that you have the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen?"

Hiccup jaw dropped in surprise, and his eyes danced with happiness and delight, radiating the sparkles from the candle light in my room. His worrisome face melted away, leaving a warm smile on his face, and a loving gaze looking down upon my face. For once in my life, I finally let myself say what I actually felt, and the results were more than I had ever hoped for.

Hiccup laid me down fully onto the bed, his weight still on top of me. He had one arm over on my left side, while his left hand rested on my arm.

"I'm so glad you're alive, Astrid..." he whispered softly, looking down. I touched his face, caressing his cheek bone gently with my thumb.

"It was your kiss that woke me up, wasn't it?" I asked, smiling up at him. He chuckled at my question, placing his warm hand on my cheek, caressing it lightly with his thumb.

"Yeah, surprisingly it did," he answered back.

"Hiccup, I had a dream about you before you woke me up," I said, slowly sitting up in my bed again, holding his hands. I looked down and smiled to myself. "I was dreaming that I was flying through the sky, and all I could see was your face, shining with all of the stars."

I looked up at Hiccup, his face turning red from the description. I smiled at him.

"And then I started to fall, and I couldn't see your face again, and I became so scared and lost. I didn't want to lose you, or lose the happiness I felt while flying up there with you," I squeezed his hands, looking down on them. The tears began to swell up in my eyes. Slowly, one single tear fell on both of our hands, leaving sprinkles of water all over our hands.

"Hiccup, "I said, lifting my head to force myself to look at him again, "When I woke up and saw your face, I felt like the happiest person in the world." Hiccup smiled a sad smile at me, following my face with every turn I took with my neck. I released our hands and wrapped my arms around him again, closing myself into him with a passionate embrace.

"Just promise me that we'll never lose each other again, Hiccup. Please promise me," I said, the tears falling onto the back of his suit. Hiccup held me even tighter in response, kissing my neck ever so softly, sending my butterflies and smiles to the surface.

"Astrid, I love you," he said, whispering softly into my ear, "I promise that we'll never lose each other again."

And in that moment, I felt as if the sun was coming up, and it was never going to go down.

"I love you too, Hiccup," I said, closing my eyes, letting the moment happen, our arms tightening their grasps around ourselves. "I will always love you."

Hiccup released me from our embrace, locking his gaze with mine. I analyzed him, hiis green eyes sparkling even more than they did before. He had the smallest, loving smile on his lips, that I couldn't help but look at in curiousity. Hiccup glanced down to my lips as well, and back to my gaze. I knew what was going to happen... and I couldn't wait any longer.

Hiccup moved his hand up to my face, bringing my face to gently to his. Our noses touched again, and my breath was becoming shallow in the anticipation. And then, ever so slowly, Hiccup gently pressed his lips against mine. My body's senses exploded, and it felt as if the butterflies had multiplied in my stomach and escaped all throughout my nervous system.

This must be what it feels like to fall in love.

Hiccup then moved his lips away from mine, causing me to yearn for them even more. He pressed his nose against mine again.

"Dance with me," he said, his voice lower and more enticing. I moved my face away from his, searching his face with confusion. "Oh come on, we just shared the most AMAZING freaking kiss, and you don't want to dance with me?!" he said, raising his arms in excitement. I laughed at him, hitting him with my pillow. Of course Hiccup would say something in a vulnerable moment such as this.

"Hiccup, I might fall if I do," I said raising my hands in question. He cocked his head to one side, his face suspiciously smiling at me.

"You can stand on my feet and I'll hold you," said Hiccup holding his arms out to me. I pushed them down, while also lowering my face, not meeting his gaze... I felt ashamed to say it.

"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to look at me. I looked back up at him. Well, if I was to be vulnerable with Hiccup now, I guess I had to say it.

"Hiccup," I said, my voice filled with annoyance, "I can't dance! Plus, you look so handsome right now, and here I am in my nightgown, looking ugly as ever..." I trailed off, thinking about my disposition. "I'm no Peggy Pearlington."

I never was a pretty girl, and I never really cared, but now Hiccup and declared love for each other, I felt like I needed to be as pretty as I possibly could for a moment like this, and dancing around me in my PJs wasn't going to make the cut.

Hiccup lifted my chin and moved closer to me, forcing me to look into his eyes, and once I got hooked into them, I couldn't look away.

"Astrid, to me, you are the most beautiful girl in the world," he said, holding my face with one hand while the other wiped my bangs out of my face. My heart felt like it would burst at the statement, my cheeks warming at the contact of his hands. "There's no one else in the world, not even that crazy Peggy Pearlington, that I would rather dance with tonight than you."

At that, he stood up and bowed to me at the side of my bed. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"M'lady?" he said, cocking his head up to look at me, his smile crooked as well. Hiccup was really starting to look seriously handsome, and not like the wimpy kid I thought him to be. Now that everything has changed, I saw him as a man, and a non-awkward one at that.

I smiled back at him and moved the sheets off of my legs, swinging them to the ground. I slowly stood, while Hiccup held me cautiously. When I finally got to my feet, he guided onto his feet. I gently pressed the balls of my feet onto his viking boots. Our bodies were warm at the amount of closeness we were at this moment. Hiccup moved one hand easily to my waist, and brought the other one with my hand. I moved my hand onto his shoulder, and brought him close to me in an embrace.

He slowly moved around the barn, swaying to a song that only we could hear. Our cheeks touched, sending a warm and happy feeling through my body. I closed my eyes and let the moment happen, him guiding me wherever we could go in the small room. It was everything I'd ever hoped for, and it all happened because I finally teared down the walls and let him see the real me, and despite that, he loved the tough me AND the real me. I could never ask for anything more. I loved Hiccup, and because of that, we can have so many of these moments together, and they never have to end. I was finally where I was meant to be, in Hiccup's loving arms, moving with him through life. We've had many adventures together, but this was to be the greatest adventure of them all.

Love.

I slowly opened my eyes, seeing where we were in the room. I quickly noticed that I was looking directly into the little crappy mirror I had, seeing myself resting my head on Hiccup's shoulder while he had his head bowed and eyes closed, feeling the moment just like I was. His shoulders were rounded over, looming over my body, like he was taking me in as much as he could. I laid limply against him in my tattered old white night gown, my hand held by his closely to our bodies, with my arm around his shoulders. It was the most beautiful picture I had ever seen, and I wanted to keep it forever.

We remained that way all night, moving around the room in an embracive silence as we lived in the moment, finally putting our feelings into actions. We then eventually fell asleep together, our bodies warm, Hiccup holding me closely to his body as I faced away from him, holding his arms as well. It was the perfect night, and it was more than I could've asked for.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang at the door, waking both of us up. Hiccup quickly got up to answer it, so it didn't look like we had "slept" together.

"I knew you were here! Snotlout owes me 20 gold pieces!" said Ruffnut, barging in. However, there was an edge to her voice, like something was wrong. I got out of bed and walked toward her.

"What's wrong Ruffnut?" I asked, searching her face. She hung her head, looking down at her feet.

"It's Edna," she said, finally bringing her gaze to mine. Hiccup walked to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He didn't know yet...

"What about her?" I asked, slight anger unexpectedly coming out as I remember what happened, what triggered my anxiety attack, and how I almost died...

Ruffnut started to pace, pulling at her long white hair in frustration.

"Thor! How do I say this?!" she said, shouting at the ceiling. Hiccup looked at me with concern. I pecked him on the cheek to calm him down, even if I wasn't calm myself.

"Okay, I'm just going to say it," she said, finally halting in her tracks. She walked right up to me, huffed in a breath, and put her hands on my shoulders.

"Edna killed herself last night."****

And that's chapter 8! Hope you guys liked it! Hiccstrid is my favorite fictional couple, so I hope this moment was worth the wait! Again, my life will start to get busy tomorrow, so I might not update for a couple days, but don't worry, I'm not done with this story as you can clearly tell! And there will be more Hiccstrid moments to come :) I hope you all have a wonderful day, and stay awesome! :)


	9. Rebuilding

**HEY GUYS! I'm back! I've missed updating this story so much! This past week was my first week back at school from winter break, so thanks for being so patient with me! It was a really busy time for me. So, here's chapter 9! I hope you all love it!**

I sat in the pew with Hiccup holding my hand, caressing it gently with his thumb. My face was stoic, my eyes staring into space, not fixated on anything. The priest walked up to the podium next to the coffin, about to start the ceremony. I couldn't help but feel so angry inside.

"I hate church," I said, turning my head slightly toward Hiccup, still staring forward. Hiccup sighed and blew a piece of hair off of his forehead.

"Yeah, never really cared for it much myself." Hiccup turned toward me, making me look at him. He lifted my hand and kissed it lightly, holding my gaze. Despite all of the anger swelling up inside of me, his green eyes always made the butterflies fly.

"Are you sure you're okay? We can always leave if you want to," he said, both of hands clasping around my left. I smiled at him and looked down.

"No, I'm fine. I need to stay."

It was just two days ago that we found out what happened to Edna. After Ruffnut came to my barn and told us, Hiccup and I went straight to the dress shop. Hiccup's father was investigating the area, while the rest of the viking council kept the townspeople at bay from all of the commotion, including Gobber.

Hiccup was still in his tux, but everything was a little askew from the night. I didn't even bother to change out of my nightgown, and Hiccup gave me his tux jacket to keep me warm. I pushed and shoved myself through the crowd, trying to get to Gobber and ask him what happened. Hiccup was right behind me, holding my hand the whole way through it.

"Gobber!" I shouted, waving my arm in the air. Gobber immediately noticed me and grabbed my hand out of the crowd, along with Hiccup. His face was saddened and disheartened.

"Gobber, what happened?" asked Hiccup, out of breath from all of the running and tripping all over himself from his metal leg. Gobber looked at us, without saying a word. He pointed his prosthetic arm toward the shop, where Stoick was standing at the door with his hands behind his back, his face stoic as ever. I looked at Hiccup, his confused face mirroring mine. He took my hand and led me to the door.

"Dad, what's going on?" asked Hiccup, pleading with him. Stock lifted his hand to stop Hiccup from saying anything more. Stoick looked at me and huffed in a breath.

"Astrid, and Astrid alone, needs to come in here. I'm sorry son, but this is her situation, not yours."

Hiccup's shoulders fell from the disheartened remark, but I put my hands on his arm, comforting him.

"He's right," I said, facing him. "I think I need to do this alone." I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he looked worried as ever. He took my hand and squeezed it slightly, almost as if telling me that he loved me. I nodded my head back in response, letting him know I loved him too. I let go of Hiccup's hand, and then turned toward Stoick. He put a hand on my back and led me through the doorway.

What I saw what the most horrifying thing I've ever laid eyes on in my life.

Edna's body laid lifeless on the ground, marks all around her body to indicate where she had fallen for further investigation. Her short black hair was pointing off of her head, and strands of it were lying around her head, clearing indicating that she had pulled some of it out. Her piercing blue eyes were wide open, lifeless and searing. Her arms laid straight out beside her, her forearms gashed with a long bloody line down to her wrists. A knife gauged in blood was lying at her feet, with her legs sprawled out on the ground. Racks of clothes were lying on the ground, the room looking as is all hell broke loose and a tornado swept in. It was evident that she had a meltdown after I left.

I should feel guilty right now, shouldn't I? I thought to myself, examining the room. As terrifying and gory as the image was, I didn't feel remorse, or sadness... I felt numb.

The walls never came down for Edna.

"Astrid, are you okay?" Stoick said, turning to face me, placing his huge hand on my shoulder. "Ruffnut told me what happened. About how Edna's-"

"Please," I said, interrupting him. I didn't want to hear the word. "I'm fine."

I took one last look around the room, and lastly on Edna's cold, lifeless face. All of the things she's ever done to me flashed before my eyes. The abuse, the heartache, the abandonment...  
The truth. I couldn't bare to look at it anymore. I quickly turned around and marched out of the shop, not looking back.

Now here we were, in the church, listening to the stupid priest ramble on and on about how he never knew Edna personally, but that she did this, and she did that... Pure torture. The only thing that made me feel a little better was the fact that Hiccup was right there beside me, comforting me in anyway he could. Plus, from I had observed about the congregation, no one seemed very phased or moved from the funeral, a state that I was a part of too.

After he was done lecturing us on the importance of life, he cleared his throat and lifted his head from his piece of paper he was reading from, pushing his glasses back on his skinny lean nose.

"Astrid Hofferson, you may come up now," the old priest said, gesturing toward me. It was a tradition in Berk that if someone died, every single member of their family would come up and talk about them. However, in Berk, she had absolutely no family... Except for me.

Hiccup squeezed my hand, smiling sadly at me. I smiled back, and slowing lifting myself from my seat. I brushed my gown as I stood, feeling insecure from wearing it. It was a black dress that hugged me at the waist and flowed down to my ankles. Hiccup said I looked beautiful in it, but nonetheless, I felt awkward as ever. Especially since I have to give this speech to everyone in it... I brushed my bangs out of my face, and proceeding to walk on.

As I walked down the aisle, everyone turned to look at me. I felt all of their "I'm so sorry" faces and eyes staring right at me. By this time, everyone knew that Edna was my...mother. Rumors travel fast in this town, and me going up to talk about the dead woman who abused me for 15 years just proves it for their gossiping pathetic lives.

The anger inside my swelled even more from their expressions. I held my ground as much as I could. For once, the walls would be an advantage for me in this situation; Keeping my emotions at bay.

I slowly took my place at the podium, looking out at all of the faces who were staring back at me. Ruffnut was sitting in the second to first row, smiling at me for good luck. I smiled back at her, and quickly took out the crumpled up piece of paper out of my pocket.

"These past couple of days have been shocking for me," I read from the paper, trying to keep my voice as monotone as possible, fighting back the anger at the same time. I looked up from the paper into the crowd, everyone looking worried. I could see Hiccup's green eyes staring right at me, sending me all of his love from a dozen feet away. I looked into them, feeling the energy that I was getting from his gaze.

The walls had cracked, and they came crumbling down.

The anger boiled beneath me, and my emotions took over all of my senses. I felt my face boil from the sensation, finally letting the feeling show. I crumpled up the piece of paper again, and threw it to the ground. I look straight out into the crowd, eyeing anyone that I possibly could.

I exploded.

"Do you know what sucks?" I said, fuming, "Having walls. And what I mean by that, is that I have these walls inside of myself that makes me incapable of showing emotion and love for other people, for showing who I really am. Well today, I'm finally going to show you."

Hiccup started to stand up, but I looked at him, forcing him to sit down. I needed to do this for myself. Hiccup got the message and slowly sat back down, his face growing with worry. I looked back out to the crowd, preparing myself to release everything.

"All of my life, I've always wanted a family. A real, loving, nurturing family, who would always tell me that they loved me, and would never leave me no matter what. But you know what? I never got that. Ever since I was little, I've been told that my parents abandoned me as a baby, leaving me by the docks to die. I've been told that Edna took me in because she thought she could use me for something. However, for 15 years of my life, I have abused, mentally put down, and scarred from an alcoholic woman who never showed any affection for me whatsoever."

The priest tried to interrupt me, but I darted my eyes to him, staring him down until he finally backed away in defeat, his face full of worry. I knew that everyone in town knew this story already, but it had to be repeated. I quickly looked back out to the crowd.

"Finally when I was 15, I said enough is enough, and took my life into my own hands. I moved out and started over."

"However, because of this woman," I continued, pointing to the coffin, tears starting to swell in my eyes.

"I have these walls. And because of them, I almost lost my best friend,"

I looked at Ruffnut.

"I almost lost...the love of my life."

I looked at Hiccup.

"But because of them, I didn't almost lose my family. I DID."

I looked at the coffin, examining it. The guilt and grief finally coming over me in a cloud of misery. I looked back out, searching for Hiccup. His face was stoic and understanding, meeting my gaze with passion. His gaze finally pushed my tears out, letting everything go.

"Even though she didn't always treat me right," I said, looking down at the coffin, refusing to look at anyone in the crowd, "She's still my mother. She even got her act together after I left, realizing how horribly she treated me."

I looked back into the crowd, looking at Ruffnut. She began to cry too.

"Edna tried to explain the truth to me," I said, breathing them out between gasps of air from the tears, "But because of my STUPID WALLS," I screamed, slamming my fists on the podium, and then slowing looking toward the coffin again.

"Because of my walls, I wouldn't hear it. And because of me, she's dead."

The whole room was silent. I heard several sniffles, along with my own. Hiccup's green eyes her even brighter from his tears as well. And that's when I remembered...

"But because of Hiccup," I said, looking at him straight in the eye, "I know how to let my walls down now." I quickly saw Peggy Pearlington in the fifth row, looking back at Hiccup, who wouldn't return her gaze. She huffed out an angry breath and stared me down. I quickly disregarded her face, and looked back out to the crowd.

"And because of him, and because of Edna, I want to make things right," I said, smiling softly, my voice coming back to an inside voice level. The emotional build was slowly being drained, and I could finally see the light once more. I breathed in, and slowly said,

"I want to find my father, and rebuild my family."

The whole crowd murmured to each other, causing a commotion of different emotions from every corner. Ruffnut quickly stood up and clapped, hooting and yelling my name. Hiccup, Snotlout, Tuffut, and eventually everyone else stood up and joined her, cheering me on. Hiccup was smiling happily at me, his teeth brightening the room. I didn't feel like I deserved this applause, but I accepted graciously.

The priest finally dismissed me, and he took the podium to continue the ceremony. I walked to the coffin before going back down the aisle, and touched the oak material. I closed my eyes, praying to the Gods for mercy.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I love you, mother."

I slowly turned around and walked back down the aisle. This time, everyone was smiling at me, as if to say 'I'm proud of you.' This is a pretty small village, and I pretty much know everyone in this room, and for people to see me break down like that is probably the first time they've ever seen me be vulnerable in a situation such as this. I finally started to feel better about things.

I sat back down next to Hiccup, immediately hugging me and whispering "I love you" in my ear. I felt a relief from my pain instantly, and I could finally breathe from the guilt building up inside, which was replacing my walls. At least the walls were gone, and I could feel now.

When the ceremony ended, we all went outside and everyone came up to me, one by one, giving me their condolences, and said that they were proud of me. Hiccup stood by me the whole time, holding my hand. Despite all of the reassurances of my speech and my love standing beside me, I still felt the guilt eating away at my stomach.

Finally, the last person to come up to me to say something was a man that I have never seen before in my life, which was strange. He wore an eyepatch, had dark brown eyes, and long blond hair that laid at his shoulders. He wore the typical viking man outfit, boots and all. He was an older man, but built and looked good for his age. His one eye examined me thoroughly, face expressionless. I looked at Hiccup, giving him a confused look. From what I saw on Hiccup's expression, he didn't know the man either. I looked back at the man curiously. He began to open his mouth and say something.

"Hi Astrid," he said, his voice low and scruffy, "My name is Fergus."

Right when he said the name, the picture came together. I finally recognized him from everyone dragon tale book I've read, every history lesson I've learned...

"King Fergus?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in disbelief, "King Fergus of Cawdor?"

He nodded his head in response, his face still expressionless.

Everyone in the land of Scotland knew about King Fergus. He was the first viking from his clan to sail across the great ocean and reach the unknown lands, and discovering that their weren't any dragons there. Because of his discovery, all of Scotland would have moved all across the sea to get away from the dragons, but because of Hiccup's training program, we were able to stay. King Fergus was also the first viking to kill ten dragons at once with one sword, putting each of their heads on a stick and carried them back to the village, showing the end of their dragon war. Of course, before Hiccup, this man was my hero. However, things in the viking world were different, and times have changed. I was over it by now.

Hiccup's jaw dropped in amazement.

"Oh my Gods!" Hiccup shouted, "You're THE King Fergus! I've read all about your dragon fighting and wars and battles, sir... You're a viking legend!"

I nudged him in response, calming him down. Despite this being a serious time in Berk, Hiccup was still Hiccup, and it still made me smile. I looked back at the King, and curtsied for him. Hiccup followed my lead and bowed as well. Fergus held out a hand.

"Please," he said, lowering his arm as we came back up, "No need. I'm here on visiting purposes only."

"To visit my father?" asked Hiccup, his voice cracking from shock.

"No, actually..." He said, looking down at his feet. "I'm here to visit an old friend." He looked up and met my gaze. "And to meet a new one."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. What would King Fergus, King of Cawdor want to do with me?

The King took a step toward me, looking me straight in the eye.

"Remember when you said you were looking for you father?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"...Yes, I remember..."

He took a step back and raised his arms, gesturing to himself.

"Well, here I am."****

And that's chapter 9! I hope you liked it. I know, not very Hiccstrid-like as the last one, but I needed to get this part of the story in. Trust me, there's more Hiccstrid stuff to come. If you want to find out what happens next, follow/favorite my story and you'll be the first to know! Also, leave a review if you'd like! It would be most appreciative. :) Have an awesome day, guys! 


	10. Ready

**Hey everyone! So... I realize that the last time I updated this story was in January... I'm am SO sorry. I know that a lot of you were upset about the long wait, but I had major writer's block, plus I got really busy with school. I hope that the wait was worth it! I promise I'll start updating more often. Right now, I'll shoot for every Friday, but if that doesn't work out, I'll let you all know somehow. Thank you so much for waiting. After you read, please review and let me know what you think! Don't forget to favorite and follow! Here's Chapter 10! Please enjoy! :)**

"Please," Fergus said, extended a hand out to me. I looked at it numbly. This guy was a complete joke.

"I don't think so," I said, swiping it away with a hard fist. Hiccup looked at me in worry. I looked at him and nodded, despite my anger, to reassure him I was alright. I never left my gaze from Fergus. I looked him up and down, scrutinizing him with my cold eyes. I've been through hell and back this past week; practically losing all of my loved ones because of my foolish selfish ways, breaking down my walls, discovering who my mother was and losing her in the matter of less than 24 hours, and finally finding myself through Hiccup, and now this so called King of Cawdor waltzes in claiming to be my father. This isn't okay.

"Astrid, I know that you're in a state of vulnerability..." Fergus said, taking a step toward me.

"You're damn right I am," I said coldly, staring at him numbly. I felt no empathy for this man in anyway.

"If you would just allow me to explain myself-"

"NO," I said loudly, my face still expressionless. I may have tore down my walls, but for this situation, there was no way I was going to let this get in. This wasn't right. I could feel it under my skin.

"Astrid..." said Hiccup, turning toward me, touching my arm. I allowed him to touch me to keep me from losing my temper again after my emotional breakdown just now inside the church, but I wasn't going to keep this off of my mind.

"How dare you," I said coldly, feeling my breath escape my lips like a snake sticking it's tongue out about to strike its prey. "Did you not see anything, or hear anything from me just now in that church?"

"Yes, I did..." Fergus said, looking down at his feet and switching his weight from foot to foot, trying to make himself more comfortable, despite myself showing more authority over him.

"Well then why are you doing this?" I said, feeling tears swelling in my eyes. Hiccup moved his arm around me, allowing me to speak, but reassuring me that he was here and he wasn't going to lose me. He promised me he wasn't going to lose me... There was so much pain that I had thought had been replaced by Hiccup, but now that I'm faced with this phony man, claiming to be the person who was never present in my life... I don't know what to do.

Fergus looked back up at me. He smiled gently and reached his hand out to me again. I looked at it with a grimace. "Please, Astrid. I don't have to explain, but I can show you."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Show me?" I took a slight step back, while Hiccup moved his arm to give me room to decide what to do or not. Hiccup was well aware that I needed him there, but he also knew that I was strong enough to handle my own decisions. That's what I also loved about him... He never restricted me from anything

"If you just take my hand," Fergus said, taking a step forward, forcing me to look into his brown eye while the other covered by an eye patch, "you will understand."

All of a sudden, I felt something click inside of me... His gaze had me entranced. I didn't anger toward him anymore. I felt as though he had become the snake, and I was his prey, but in the sense that he wasn't going to harm me. My mind told me to be cautious of him, but my gut told me to go ahead and let him show me. All of my senses left me. No one else was there except me and this strange man. I then unconsciously lifted my hand and took a step toward him, never leaving his gaze. I then took hold of his hand, and then all of sudden, his face disappeared.

I suddenly found myself in a dark sunken room. A council of men sat at a round table, all glowing in torch light. These men looked as if they had all come off of the battle field of the unknown lands where the Great Kings set forth to find salvation for the vikings. I had read all about their stories from the dragon tales we had to read from dragon training, back in my days of wanting to be a great dragon slayer.

There were 13 men sitting at the round table, and a younger man stood the farthest away from me, standing before them. He was a young, handsome man with gorgeous blond hair that flowed down to his shoulders. He was much younger than the rest of the men at the table. His face was worried.

That's when I realized... I was among the 14 Great Kings of the Scottish land, and King Fergus was the one standing. He was a part of the council.

"No, Fergus..." said the one closest to his left. He was broad shouldered, dark hair flowing over his battle armor. He looked the oldest, as though years of battle has tired him.

"Please, Dunken," Fergus pleaded. He had to be at least in his early twenties right now. He was skinnier than the rest, but built all the same. I could see the youth of his brown eyes from across the room. "I know that I have deceived her, but she is with child..."

"You bloody idiot..." said another man across the table, red hair sprouting in tufts as he rubbed his eyes from the conversation. "How could you do this to us.. Leaving the council to 'discover,' taking a fake name and putting that poor girl's life and child in jeopardy. You have ruined all of the plans.."

"Patience, Malcolm," pronounced Duncan. The elder king then stood up, and faced all 13 men around the table, and lifted his hands. The torches around the room then sparked together and created an orange glow in the air. My eyes widened at the sight. It was as if seeing the northern lights, but it was in this compacted room. I had never seen anything like it...

Dunkan then moved his hands in flowing motion, making the orange glow move into shapes. The council looked up at the sight, Fergus eagerly waiting to see what would happen.

Then, out of the sparks and the orange mist... My face appeared.

"Who is this?" said Fergus, confused, with slight fear behind it.

"This is your future child," Dunkan said, lowering his hands. He spoke in a slow, wise way, as if to determine the fate of the land. "This is the child your love is carrying."

Fergus clenched his fists, trying not to lose his temper. "It's a girl..."

"Yes," Duncan said, interrupting him, still not looking away from the mist, "but do not be discouraged by this. Your daughter will grow to be a great viking."

All of the council men looked around at each other. Clearly they weren't accustomed to the idea of a woman being in battle, even though the women's rights movement for training happened about 50 years ago.

Duncan then looked away from the mist, the orange glow dispersing and flying across the room, disappearing into the air. He slowly turned to look at the young king. "Your daughter is the descendant we have been waiting for."

All of the kings started murmuring, their faces full of disgust and bewilderment. Duncan lifted his arms again to silence their protestations. Fergus's eyes were wide and full of astoundment.

"You mean... my daughter... She will be the one to lead our people to the new world?" Fergus sputtered out. He simply could not believe that his descendant, let alone his daughter, would be the one.

"Yes," said Duncan, putting a hand on his shoulder, forcing Fergus's face to fall and accept this destiny. Duncan sighed again, his eyebrows furrowing with distasteful news. "Which means that you must leave them."

Fergus's eyes began to fill with tears. His lower lip quivered, and he lost control. The young king fell to his knees, and sobbing into the hand of the Elder. The rest of the council, still confused at the fact that the descendent would be a woman, were sober from the sight. They all understood what had to be done.

"I'm sorry, Fergus," Duncan said, placing a hand on the young king's head, while still sobbing, almost as if pleading for him to change the rules. "She cannot be contacted until her 18th year. She must grow and find herself from life on her own to be ready for the task she was destined to fulfill. You know this from experience. We all do."

I distinctly remember from the books that I read, that all of the kings had to forgo their training on their own; to learn about the world alone and to truly understand what the world really was. I never understood it, but now, I think I do... To be a leader of others, you must understand what it is to stand alone first. They had to find themselves before they could find others.

Fergus then stood up slowly and looked into Duncan's eyes, nodding his head, still weeping silently. "Just, please..." Fergus whispered, holding the Elder King's hands, "Let her have her mother."

Duncan shook his head in disappointment. "We cannot choose unchosen people's destiny's, and unfortunately, this destiny will lead to loss."

Fergus dropped his head and sobbed once again. I felt numb. I realized what was happening. This is the council of the Great Kings. This is where they decided how to lead the land, what needed to be down, what destinies were called for, and this... this was my father.

They were talking about me, Astrid. I am this "descendant" they speak of, and apparently because of that, I couldn't have my father in my life. That's why he really left. He didn't leave because Edna refused to marry him... He used that as an excuse to leave to fulfill the prophecy... Edna didn't have walls. Even if there was no prophecy, if Fergus could have stayed, he would have, despite Edna's proposal rejection.

Edna is my mother. Fergus is my father. I am the daughter of King Fergus of Cawdor, and I am the chosen descendant... but what does this all mean?

Before I can answer my own question, the room disappears, and I'm falling into blackness. My senses disappear, and I close my eyes tight afraid to fall. I feel a gush of wing fill into my lungs, and I breathe in with fear. The force of the motions exhausts me, and suddenly and I open my eyes and let out a strong gasp that leaves me breathless. As I open my eyes, I see that I'm back to where I started, standing in front on Fergus, holding his outstretched hand.

I fell to my knees from the experience. Hiccup is there automatically grabbing my arm, steadying my fall. I looked at Hiccup and touched his face, looking into his green worrisome eyes. "Hiccup..." I whispered, feeling a smile slowly form on my face, "I saw so much.. Everything is true."

I turned to look up to see Fergus smiling down on me. Hiccup let my hand drop from his face as I move my focus toward the king. As I looked up into Fergus's face, it was blocking the sun's glow, forming a halo around his head... His hand touched my face gently. "My dear girl..." he said silently. "You have your mother's eyes."

I burst in tears from the comment. All of the years without him, wondering where he was, and why he wasn't with me. All of these years I thought he didn't love me... but he did. He always did.

"Father..." I said, choking on my words. Still on my knees, I take his hands and kiss them, the tears rolling down my face.

"Astrid, my darling..." Fergus said, kneeling down and caressing my head, wrapping his arms around me. I fall into his embrace, losing touch of everyone else around me.

This man is my father.. I found my father. He's here. He's comforting me. He loves me, most importantly. He always has.

"Please don't leave..." I sputtered into his shoulder, "Please don't."

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. I could hear his smile in his words. "You couldn't lose me if you tried."

And in the moment, I found myself. I found myself in Ruffnut, my friend, I found myself in Hiccup, the love of my life, I found myself in Edna, my mother, and now I found myself in King Fergus of Cawdor, my father.

I slowly released the embrace from my father, looking into his brown eye.

"I've found myself, father," I said defiantly. "I'm ready."

**This is not the end! Far from it! If you're new to this story, please favorite and follow to find out what happens next, and if you're old, please review and let me know what you think about the direction of the story! Thank you guys so much. I appreciate all of the the positive comments! Love you guys :)**


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